Letters

On Christmas Eve 1869, a bird-related incident ruffled Charles Dickens' feathers.

Charles Dickens Lost His Last Christmas Turkey to a Freak Fire

A rediscovered letter reveals the famed author forgave the railway company that botched his holiday delivery

British novelist Ian Fleming on the beach near Goldeneye, his Jamaica home, on February 23, 1964

For Sale: Trove of Tempestuous Letters Exchanged by Ian Fleming and His Wife, Ann

"In the present twilight, we are hurting each other to an extent that makes life hardly bearable," wrote the James Bond author in one missive

U.S. Army Pvt. John McGrath survived the bullet that scarred this letter he penned during the liberation of Italy.

The Unprecedented Effort to Preserve a Million Letters Written by U.S. Soldiers During Wartime

A tragedy at home led one intrepid historian to find and catalog precious correspondence for future generations to study

Renia Spiegel in Przemyśl circa 1930

The Poignant Wartime Diary of a Jewish Teenager Living in Poland Has Been Published in English

Renia Spiegel was killed by the Nazis when she was 18 years old

Rose Cleveland (left) and Evangeline Simpson Whipple (right) exchanged passionate love letters throughout the course of their nearly 30-year relationship

New Book Chronicles First Lady Rose Cleveland’s Love Affair With Evangeline Simpson Whipple

Rose and her longtime partner are buried side by side in the Italian town where they once shared a home

Otto Frank pictured holding a copy of "The Diary of Anne Frank"

Letters Written by Anne Frank’s Father, Otto, Will Be Digitized to Mark Diarist’s 90th Birthday

The notes stem from a 1970s pen pal correspondence between Otto and a young artist named Ryan Cooper

Anne Frank wrote the letters between 1936 and 1941, a period predating the events of her famed diary.

Letters Anne Frank Wrote to Her Grandmother Will Be Published for the First Time

The notes are featured in a soon-to-be released volume of Frank’s collected works

Georgia O’Keeffe. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1919.

Newly Public Letters Show Georgia O’Keeffe’s Quest for Independence

The Library of Congress has acquired a collection of letters from the artist to filmmaker Henwar Rodakiewicz

1921 Christmas greetings slide by Arthur Earland

The Nerdiest Christmas Cards Ever May Be These Microscope Slides Composed of Shells

The unusual holiday exchange, which lasted decades during the early 20th-century, hints at the drama between the two colleagues

Portrait of Galileo Galilei (1636) by Justus Sustermans

Newly Discovered Letter Catches Galileo in a 400-Year-Old Lie

Fearing repercussions of his groundbreaking scientific claims, which flew in the face of church doctrine, the famed astronomer fibbed

In 1776, the year she married, Julia Stockton Rush was painted by Charles Willson Peale.

Rediscovering a Founding Mother

Just-discovered letters herald the significance of an unsung Revolutionary woman, Julia Rush

Did George Orwell Pick Up TB During the Spanish Civil War?

A new technique was able to pull tuberculosis bacteria and morphine residue from a letter the author sent in 1938, ten years befor his diagnosis

Envelope decoration was always a staple of the mail art experience. This colorful letter was sent from performance artist Anna Banana (Anna Lee Long) to collagist John Evans in 2010.

Collaborative “Mail Art” Puts the Post in Postmodernism

Letters, envelopes and enclosures take center stage in an intimate new art show

An authentic copy of a letter written by Christopher Columbus as displayed at the Vatican. The United States is returning to the Vatican Library a letter written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 announcing his discovery of the New World that was stolen and replaced with a forgery.

Stolen Christopher Columbus Letter Returned to Vatican, But Mystery Persists

The letter, which had been printed in 1493, was replaced with a convincing fake—and investigators still don’t know who committed the crime

Ruth (Woodworth) Creveling, US Navy Yeoman (F), 1917-1920

During World War I, Many Women Served and Some Got Equal Pay

Remembering the aspirations, struggles and accomplishments of women who served a century ago

The "Saucy Jacky" postcard

Were the Jack the Ripper Letters Fabricated by Journalists?

Linguistic analysis indicates at least two of the most infamous letters were likely written by the same person—and that person was not the Ripper

Why a Collection of Simone de Beauvoir’s Love Letters Was Just Sold to Yale

The 112 letters were written to filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, who had a seven-year relationship with the French philosopher

Envelope for stationary packet, "Torch of Love," George W. Fisher Bookseller and Stationer, Rochester, New York.

How the Civil War Taught Americans the Art of Letter Writing

Soldiers and their families, sometimes barely literate, wrote to assuage fear and convey love

Arthur Miller in his study, Roxbury, Connecticut, 1987.

Arthur Miller’s Vast Archive Comes to the University of Texas at Austin

The collection includes a wealth of material, from theatrical manuscripts to personal memorabilia

These Letters Tell the Inside Story of Mary, Queen of Scots’ Imprisonment

A collection of 43 letters relating to the latter years of the queen’s confinement was recently donated to the British Library

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