The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters), by Mary Owens potx

The Project Gutenberg EBook of
How to Write Letters (Formerly
The Book of
Letters), by Mary Owens Crowther
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Title: How to Write Letters
(Formerly The Book of Letters)
A Complete Guide to Correct
Business and Personal
Correspondence
Author: Mary Owens Crowther
Release Date: August 2, 2007
[EBook #22222]
[Last updated on August 7, 2007]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT
GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO WRITE
LETTERS ***
Produced by Charles Aldarondo,
Jacqueline Jeremy and the

Online Distributed Proofreading
Team at
A S T A R B O O K
H O W T O W R I T E
L E T T E R S
(Formerly
A Complete Guide
to Correct Business and Personal
Correspondence
Mary Owens Crowther
GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.
NEW YORK
CL
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY,
N. Y.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The forms for engraved
invitations, announcements, and
the like, and the styles of
notepapers, addresses,
monograms, and crests are by
courtesy of the Bailey, Banks
and Biddle Company,
Brentano's, and The Gorham
Company. The Western Union

Telegraph Company has been
very helpful in the chapter on
telegrams.
WHAT IS A LETTER? 1
CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
THE PURPOSE OF THE
LETTER
6
1. The Heading 10
2. The Inside Address
12
3. The Salutation
16
CHAPTER III
THE PARTS OF A LETTER
4. The Body of the
Letter
22
5. The Complimentary
Close
266. The Signature
29
7. The Superscription
33
CHAPTER IV
BEING APPROPRIATE—
Common Offenses 36

Stock Phrases in
Business Letters
38
WHAT TO AVOID
CHAPTER V
PERSONAL LETTERS—
SOCIAL AND FRIENDLY
Invitations and
Acknowledgments
44
The Letter of
Condolence
91
Letters of Sympathy in
Case of Illness
95
Letters of
Congratulation
101
Letters of Introduction
107Letters of Thanks
110
Letters Between
Friends
118
PERSONAL BUSINESS
LETTERS
124
CHAPTER VI
THE BUSINESS LETTER

135
Sales and
Announcement Letters
146
Keeping the Customer
160
Selling Real Estate
163Bank Letters 173
Letters of Order and
CHAPTER VII
Acknowledgment
182
Letters of Complaint
and Adjustment
186
Credit and Collection
Letters
193
Letters of Application
211
Letters of Reference
217
Letters of Introduction
220Letters of Inquiry
223
THE USE OF FORM
PARAGRAPHS
227
CHILDREN'S LETTERS
CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX
230
TELEGRAMS 236
THE LAW OF LETTERS
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
247
THE COST OF A
LETTER
252
STATIONERY, CRESTS
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
AND MONOGRAMS
258
LIST OF TEXT
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
In the business letterhead appear the
name of the firm, its address, and the
kind of business engaged in 11
Letterheads used by a life insurance
company, a law firm, and three
associations 13
In the case of widely known firms, or
where the name of the firm itself
indicates it, reference to the nature of
the business is often omitted from
letterheads 14
Specimens of letterheads used for

official stationery 27
As to the use of the symbol "&" and
the abbreviation of the word
"Company," the safest plan in writing
to a company is to spell its name
exactly as it appears on its letterhead 42
Specimen of formal wedding
invitation
48
Specimens of formal invitations to a
wedding reception 51
Specimen of wedding announcement 54
Specimens of formal dinner
invitations 60
Specimens of formal invitations "to
meet" 63
Specimens of formal invitations to a
dance 68
Specimens of business letterheads 140
Arrangement of a business letter
(block form)
144
Arrangement of a business letter
(indented form) 145
Specimens of business letterheads
used by English firms 207
Specimens of addressed social
stationery 259
Specimens of addressed social
stationery 260

The monograms in the best taste are
the small round ones, but many
pleasing designs may be had in the
diamond, square, and oblong shapes 262