Write On!

The hand-written letter is a precious and beautiful thing, though in our 21st Century, it seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. What a shame. In today's world, folks may begin a correspondence with a thank you note, a birthday card, but it seems that the moment a relationship is established, the charm and grace of the hand-written gift is gone in favor of an email or text or phone call. That's fine, of course, better than nothing at all, but the time and effort and careful words recorded on paper is sadly over.

I marvel at the correspondence of the past. In a case like Mozart's, there remains over 1,400 letters that either he wrote to friends and family, or their letters to him. Because of this wonderful fact, we have access to the real person, from quaint and sweet letters he wrote to his sister and mother when he was on the road with his father, at about age 9 or 10. We have letters written to his father when he was a teen-ager about 17-18 when he was again travelling with his mother to Mannheim for a concert tour. They are humorous, provocative, sometimes silly or baudy. One letter written at about 20-21 years of age, to his cousin Basle, is downright naughty! Later, there are beautiful letters back and forth to his beloved wife Constanze. They are filled with inside jokes, tender musings, heartache and longing when they were apart. There is correspondence to friends and associates for help finding a post at court, or for financial assistance when times were lean. All in all, we get a real picture of the man, what he was up to, where he was going, and how he felt about all this. It's great, and we can thank Constanze for preserving these letters, and in turn, his legacy.

Sometimes, though, letters were thought too personal, none of anyone's business, and they were destroyed. This is the case with Martha Washington. When George died, she burnt all their letters! What a shame! And so, we certainly know alot about George, but more from a historic perspective than an emotional or personal portrait.

Here's an interesting bit: Letters in the 18th Century, at least in England, were paid for by the recipient, not the sender! And so, if you had any regard or compassion for the next person, you used very little paper, wrote small, AND, interestingly enough, if you ran out of room on the page, you turned your letter 90o and wrote over the writing already there!!! This was called cross-letters, and is commonly seen in old antique letters. The paper used was "laid" paper, which was marked with parallel lines or water marks, as if ribbed, from parallel wires in the mold.

Of course, one of the most important things about letter writing in the 18th Century was how carefully and respectfully one's thoughts were expressed. People addressed each other in a much more formal way, UNTIL they knew the person, over time, and with that person's permission. Today, everyone is on a first name basis whether it's called for or not, or addressed as "you guys" or "hey, man!" The nightmare of Facebook adds to the gross familiarity. Everyone knows everyone's business. There are no parameters. "Friends" air their "dirty laundry", argue or gossip on line, for all to see. Those kind of friends one doesn't need.

Isn't it lovely to go to your mail box and find an actual letter, correspondence from a friend or loved one, perhaps while on their travels, or to inform you of some wonderful news! I just cherish those moments, though I know they are few and far between. Actually, I have kept all the letters of a very dear friend, a correspondence that spans over 30 years now. I keep them in a special place, and they are bound with ribbon. We have shared so many of life's adventures, important occasions, landmarks, changes, travels. They call to me to do something special with them, and I know that inspiration will reveal itself one day. Meanwhile, I keep collecting!