We feel that something may have gone wrong to have caused you to discontinue trading at our store.

If you are not fully satisfied with anything you bought from us, remember that we are always eager and ready to adjust the matter to your satisfaction. We shall certainly appreciate it if you will write to us and tell us frankly just what the trouble has been. Will you use the inclosed envelope to let us know?

Yours truly, S. Black Company, (Handwritten) George Sims, Credit Manager.

A. B. SWEETSER & CO. 4000 MAIN STREET COLUMBUS, O.

June 8, 1922.

Mrs. Arthur Thomas, 25 Spruce Avenue, Columbus, O.

Dear Madam:

Does our store please you? Sometime ago it probably did and you had an account with us, but we find with regret that you have not used it lately. If we disappointed you, or if something went wrong and possibly your complaint was not properly attended to, we are extremely anxious to know about it.

Perhaps there was some lack of courtesy, some annoying error in your bill which we were exasperatingly obtuse in rectifying? Were we stupid in filling some order or did we delay in delivery? Perhaps we did not have just what you were looking for, or our prices seemed higher than elsewhere.

Whatever the difficulty, we do want you to know that we try to stand for good service—to supply promptly what you want at the price you want to pay, and always to conduct our business with an unfailing courtesy which will make your shopping a pleasure.

Being a woman I may understand your point of view a little better. Will you be quite frank and tell me why you do not buy from Sweetser's now? Either write or call me on the telephone; or, better still, if you are in our neighborhood, can you come in to see me?

The information booth is at the door and I can be found in a minute. It might help to talk things over.

Sincerely yours, (Handwritten) Mrs. Margaret B. Williams, Courtesy Manager, A. B. Sweetser & Co.

MEYER, HASKELL & CO. 230 ELM STREET BLOOMFIELD, ILL.

March 8, 1923.

Mrs. Bruce Wells, 19 Dwight Ave., Bloomfield, Ill.

Dear Madam:

We very much regret that you do not use more often your charge account at our store, and we hope it is not due to any lack on our part of prompt and intelligent service.

We know that with our large and well-assorted stocks of merchandise and competent organization we ought to be able to supply your needs to your complete satisfaction. One of five stores, we have great opportunities for advantageous buying and we can continually undersell others.

In this connection permit us to call your attention to our newly installed telephone order department. This department is in charge of competent house shoppers, whose duty it is to satisfy your every want, thus enabling our charge patrons to shop by telephone with perfect certainty.

We feel that these advantages may appeal to you and result in our receiving your orders more often.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) T. Hunter, Credit Manager, Meyer, Haskell & Co.

SELLING REAL ESTATE

There are two phases in the writing of letters concerning the sale of real estate. The first phase has to do with the presentation of the proposal in order to arouse sufficient interest in the mind of the prospect to cause him to inspect the property. Comparatively little real estate is sold without personal inspection. The exceptions are offerings of low-priced building sites in distant sections of the country. These are sold sight unseen—else, as a rule, they would never be sold at all. But such real estate selling is more apt to be in the class with fake mining stock than with legitimate buying and selling, and therefore has no place here.

The second phase of letters on real estate comprehends the closing of the sale. For instance, let us say that John Hope has gone so far as to look at a property. He apparently wants to buy the property or is at least interested, but the price and conditions of sale do not exactly suit him. He is so situated that he does not want to talk personally with an agent, or perhaps lives too far away. At any rate, the sale has to be closed by mail. The fact which most concerns the buyer of real estate, provided he is otherwise satisfied with a property, is the title. The title is the legal term by which is denoted the exact character of the ownership. Quite frequently an owner may believe that he has a clear title when, as a matter of fact, his title is derived through some testamentary instrument which gives him a holding only for life, or perhaps trusts have been set up in the will which are a charge upon the property, although all of the beneficiaries of the trust have been long since dead. There are many hundreds of possible legal complications affecting the validity of the title and it is usual to-day to have titles insured and, in agreeing to buy, to specify that the "title must be marketable and insurable by a reputable title insurance company." The word "marketable" as here used means a title which is unquestionable. The prospective buyer must also be careful to specify that the title shall be "free and clear" and that all taxes shall be apportioned to the day of settlement. Otherwise the buyer would have to take title subject to a lien of any judgments or other liens of record and also subject to unpaid taxes.

A real estate transaction may be very complicated indeed, and it is wise for a buyer to take precautions to the end of seeing that he purchases a piece of real property rather than a right to a lawsuit. Most letters offering real estate for sale are written in response to inquiries generated by an advertisement. The letter offering the property is designed to bring forth a visit from the inquirer. Therefore only the information which seems best adapted to bring about that visit should go into the letter. The temptation is to tell too much, and the danger of telling too much is that one may inadvertently force a negative conclusion. It is better to keep down to the bare, although complete, description rather than to attempt any word painting. The description is best supplemented by one or several photographs.

The important points to be summarized are the situation of the house, the architectural style, the material of which it is constructed, the number of rooms, and the size of the lot, with of course a description of any stable, garage, or other substantial out-buildings. These are the elementary points of the description. One may then summarize the number and size of the rooms, including the bathrooms, laundry, and kitchen, the closet spaces, fireplaces, the lighting, the roofing, the floors, the porches, and the decorating. The most effective letter is always the one that catalogues the features rather than describes them.

An agent asking for a list of property

JONES REALTY CO. HARRISBURG, PA.

April 3, 1924.

Mr. James Renwick, 126 Pelham Road, Westville, Pa.

My dear Sir:

I am constantly having inquiries from people who want to buy property in your immediate vicinity, and I am writing to learn whether you would give me the opportunity to dispose of your property for you, if I can obtain an entirely satisfactory price. If you will name the price and the terms at which you would sell, I should be glad to put the property on my list and I believe that I can make a sale.

It would be helpful if I had a good description of the property and also one or two good photographs. Of course if you list the property with me that will not bar you from listing it with any other broker unless you might care to put it exclusively in my hands for disposal. My commission is 2-1/2%, the same as charged by other brokers in this vicinity, and I know from experience that I can give you satisfactory service.

Very truly yours, Henry Jones.

From an owner instructing an agent to list property

126 Pelham Road, Westville, Pa., May 6, 1922.

Mr. Henry Jones, Jones Realty Co., Harrisburg, Pa.

My dear Sir:

I have your letter of May 3rd and I am entirely willing that you should list my property for sale, although I do not want a "For Sale" sign displayed nor do I want the property inspected while I am in it unless by a previously arranged appointment.

I enclose a description and a photograph. I will take $25,000 for the place, of which $10,000 has to be paid in cash. I am willing to hold a second mortgage of $5,000 and there is $10,000 already ready against the place, which can remain.

Very truly yours, James Renwick.

Selling a property by mail

1437 Lawrence Street, Greenville, N. Y., April 20, 1921.

Mr. George A. Allen, 789 Fourth Avenue, Hillside, N. Y.

My dear Sir:

I have your letter of April 17th asking for further particulars on the property which I advertised for sale in last Sunday's Republic. I think that by inspecting this property you can gain a much clearer idea of its desirability than I can possibly convey to you in a letter. If you will telephone to me, I will arrange any appointment that suits your convenience.

The house is ten years old—that is, it was built when materials and workmanship were first-class. It has been kept up by the owner, has never been rented, and is to-day a more valuable house than when it was originally constructed. It is three stories in height, contains fifteen rooms, four bathrooms, breakfast porch, sun porch, children's breakfast porch, a laundry, butler's pantry, a storage pantry, and a refrigerator pantry. It stands on a plot of ground 150 x 200 feet, which has been laid out in lawn and gardens, and in fact there are several thousand dollars' worth of well-chosen and well-placed plants, including many evergreens and rhododendrons. The trim of the house, including the floors, is hard wood throughout, and the decorations are such that nothing whatsoever would have to be done before occupancy.

I enclose two photographs. The owner's price is $60,000, and I know that he would be willing to arrange terms.

Very truly yours, R. A. Smith.

(Note—Essentially the same letter could be written offering the house for rental, furnished or unfurnished, as the case might be.)

49 Main Street, Albany, N. Y., October 8, 1924.

Mr. Henry Grimes, Catskill, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

The business property that I offered for sale in yesterday's Republic and concerning which I have a letter from you this morning is particularly well suited for a specialty shop or any kind of a store that would be benefited by the passing of large numbers of people before its show windows. It is located at the corner of Third and Main Streets with a frontage of thirty feet on Main Street and runs back seventy feet on Third Street. There is one large show window on Main Street and two on Third Street.

It is a three-story brick structure, solidly built, and the upper floors, if they could not be used for your own purposes, will as they stand bring a rental of $200 a month each, and with a few changes could probably be leased at a higher amount. They are at present leased at the above figures, but the leases will expire on January 1st. Both tenants are willing to renew. By actual count this property is on the third busiest corner in town.

If you are interested, I should like to discuss the price and terms with you.

Very truly yours, Henry Eltinge.

Offering a farm for sale

Goschen, Ohio, R. F. D. 5, May 5, 1922.

Mr. Harry More, Bridgeton, Ohio.

Dear Sir:

I am glad to get your letter inquiring about my farm. I am acting as my own agent because I think it is a farm that will sell itself on inspection and I would rather split the commission with the buyer than with a middle-man.

The farmhouse, barns, and dairy are good, substantial frame buildings, and they have been well painted every second season. There is nothing to be done to them. The house has six rooms and a large, dry cellar. The water is soft and there is plenty of it. The barn is 60 by 50; the poultry house is a big one that I built myself. The sheds are all in first-class condition.

This farm contains 240 acres, two miles from Goschen, Ohio, and there is a state road leading into town and to the railroad. We have rural delivery and telephone. The land is high and in first-class cultivation. The orchard has been kept up and there are well-established strawberry and asparagus beds.

You will not find a better farm of its kind than this one. I have made a living off it for twelve years and anybody else can, but the only way for you really to find out what the place amounts to is to come down yourself and look it over. If you will let me know when you expect to come I will meet you at the station in my automobile.

The price is ten thousand dollars. There is a mortgage of $2,500 that can remain, and, other things being satisfactory, we can arrange the down payment and the terms for the balance.

Very truly yours, John Hope.

Accepting an offer

340 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 15, 1922.

Mr. Joseph Barlow, Haines Crossing, Delaware.

Dear Sir:

I have your letter of December 12th offering to sell to me the property that we have been discussing for $15,000 of which $3,000 is to be in cash, $5,000 to remain on three-year mortgage at six per cent., and the remaining $7,000 to be cared for by the present mortgage in that amount and which I understand has four years yet to run.

I accept your offer as stated by you, with the provision of course that I shall receive a clear and marketable title, insurable by a real estate title company, and that all taxes shall be adjusted as of the day of settlement, which settlement is to take place three months from to-day. If you will have a contract of sale drawn, I shall execute it and at the same time hand you my check for five hundred dollars as the consideration for the contract of purchase.

This letter is written in the assumption that the dimensions of the property are such as have been represented to me.

I am

Very truly yours, Martin Fields.

(Note—The above letter replying to an offer to sell would of itself close the contract and the formal contract of sale is unnecessary. A contract is, however, advisable because it includes all the terms within a single sheet of paper and therefore makes for security.)

Letter inquiring as to what may be had

534 Gramercy Park, February 8, 1923.

Home Development Co., Hastings, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to learn what property you have listed in your vicinity that would seem to meet my particular requirements. I want a house of not less than ten rooms, with some ground around it and not more than fifteen minutes from the railroad station. The house must contain at least two bathrooms, have a good heating plant, and either be in first-class condition or offered at a price that would permit me to put it in first-class condition without running into a great deal of money. I am willing to pay between ten and fifteen thousand dollars.

Will you send me a list of properties that you can suggest as possibly being suitable?

Very truly yours, Julian Henderson.

Renting apartments

YOUNG & REYNOLDS 48 GREEN STREET BROOKLYN, N. Y.

May 15, 1923.

Mr. Robert Pardee, 29 Prentiss Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

Your name has been handed to me as one who might be interested in leasing one of the extremely attractive apartments in the Iroquois at Number 20 East Third Street, which will be ready for occupancy on September 15th.

I enclose a descriptive folder which will give you an idea of the grounds that we have for basing our claim that this is the most convenient apartment house that has ever been erected. The apartments vary in size, as you will see on the plan, and for long leases we can arrange any combination of rooms that may be desired. These features are common to all of the apartments. Every bedroom has a private bathroom. Every living and dining room contains an open fireplace, and every apartment, no matter what its size, is connected with a central kitchen so that service may be had equivalent to that of any hotel and at any hour from seven in the morning until midnight. There is a complete hotel service, all of which is entirely optional with the tenant.

We invite your inspection. A number of the apartments have already been leased, but many desirable ones still remain and an early selection will permit of decoration according to your own wishes in ample time for the opening of the building. The renting office is on the premises.

Very truly yours, Young & Reynolds.

BANK LETTERS

The qualities which make a bank popular in a community are, first, safety; second, intelligence; and third, courtesy. One bank has potentially nothing more to offer than has another bank, excepting that of course a very large bank has a greater capacity for making loans than has a small bank. The amount which by law a bank may lend is definitely fixed by the resources of the bank.

However, this is not a question of particular concern here, for very large and important accounts are never gained through letter writing. The field that can be reached through letters comprises the substantial householder, the moderate-sized man in business, and the savings depositor. A bank has no bargains to offer. What a man or a woman principally asks about a bank is: "Will my money be safe? Will my affairs be well looked after? Shall I be treated courteously when I go into the bank?" The answers to these questions should be found in the conduct of the bank itself.

A bank is not a frivolous institution. Therefore its stationery and the manner of its correspondence should be eminently dignified. It must not draw comparisons between the service it offers and the service any other bank offers. It must not make flamboyant statements. Neither may it use slang, for slang connotes in the minds of many a certain carelessness that does not make for confidence. Above all, a bank cannot afford to be entertaining or funny in its soliciting letters. The best bank letter is usually a short one, and it has been found effective to enclose a well-designed, well-printed card or folder setting out some of the services of the bank, its resources, and its officers. Bank solicitation is very different from any other kind of solicitation.

Soliciting savings accounts

GUARDIAN TRUST CO. BAYVILLE, N. J.

January 15, 1922.

Mr. George Dwight, Bayville, N. J.

Dear Sir:

Some time ago we delivered to you a little home safe for savings, and we are writing to learn how you are making out with it. Have you saved as much as you had expected? Are you waiting to get a certain sum before bringing it in to be credited in your passbook?

We are often asked if it is necessary to fill a home safe before bringing it in to have the contents deposited, and we always recommend that the bank be brought in at regular intervals, regardless of the amount saved, for you know the money begins to earn interest only when it is deposited with us.

We give to small deposits the same careful attention we give to large deposits, so we suggest that you bring in and deposit whatever you have saved. That will make a start, and once started it is truly surprising how quickly a bank account rolls up.

I hope that we may have the benefit of your patronage.

Very truly yours, The Guardian Trust Company, (Handwritten) J. D. Wallace, Secretary.

Where a savings account is inactive

GUARDIAN TRUST CO. BAYVILLE, N. J.

August 10, 1922.

Mr. George Dwight, Bayville, N. J.

Dear Sir:

A little home bank may be made a power for good.

It can accomplish nothing by itself, standing unused in an out-of-the-way place.

It can only be an assistant to the saver.

It can assist your boy and girl to great things.

It can assist you in daily economies upon which big results are often built.

It cannot furnish the initiative, but it can be a constant reminder and an ever-ready recipient.

Why not use the little bank we delivered to you when you opened your savings account with us to teach the children to save, or to collect together small amounts for yourself.

Why not?

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) J. D. Wallace, Secretary.

Checking accounts

A letter soliciting a home account:

GUARDIAN TRUST CO. POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.

October 14, 1923.

Mrs. Hester Wickes, 59 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

Do you ever have arguments over bills that you have paid in cash? Do you always remember to get a receipt? Do you find it a nuisance to carry cash? Do you know that it is dangerous to keep much cash in the house?

There can be no dispute about an account if you pay it with a bank check. Your cancelled check is a perfect receipt. More than that, your bank book shows you when, how much, and to whom you have paid money. It is not only the easy way of paying bills but the safe way. You escape all the danger of carrying or having in the house more than mere pocket money. You will find by opening a checking account with us not only the advantages of paying by check but you will also discover many conveniences and services which we are able to offer to you without any charge whatsoever.

I hope that you will call and let us explain our services. I enclose a folder telling you more about the bank than I have been able to tell in this letter.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) J. D. Wallace, Secretary.

P.S. We have some very attractive styles in pocket check books that might interest you.

Soliciting a commercial account

THE LOGANSBURG NATIONAL BANK LOGANSBURG, WIS.

April 15, 1921.

Mr. Fred Haynes, 21 Nassau Street, Logansburg, Wis.

Dear Sir:

Every man in business is entitled to an amount of credit accommodation in accordance with his resources. It is one of the functions of this bank to help the business of the community by extending credit to those who make the business for the community. We are here to be of service and we should like to serve you.

I enclose a folder giving the latest statement of the resources of the bank and something about the organization. Will you not drop in some time and at least permit us to become acquainted?

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) R. T. Newell, President.

General services

Trust companies and national banks are very generally extending their services to cover the administration of decedents' estates, to advise upon investments, to care for property, and to offer expert tax services. In most cases, these services are set out in booklets and the letter either encloses the booklet or is phrased to have the recipient ask for the booklet.

Letter proffering general services:

GRIGGS NATIONAL BANK 28 FIFTH AVE. NEW YORK

November 16, 1921.

Mr. Henry Larkin, 3428 Cathedral Parkway, New York.

Dear Sir:

We are writing to call your attention to several services which this bank has at your command and which we should be happy to have you avail yourself of:

(1) The Bond Department can give you expert and disinterested advice on investments and can in addition offer you a selection of well-chosen season bonds of whatever character a discussion of your affairs may disclose as being best suited to your needs.

(2) Our safe deposit vaults will care for your securities and valuable papers at an annual cost which is almost nominal.

(3) We have arrangements by which we can issue letters of credit that will be honored anywhere in the world, foreign drafts, and travellers' checks.

(4) If you expect to be away through any considerable period or do not care to manage your own investments, our Trust Department will manage them for you and render periodical accounts at a very small cost. This service is especially valuable because so frequently a busy man fails to keep track of conversion privileges and rights to new issues and other matters incident to the owning of securities.

(5) We will advise you, if you like, on the disposition of your property by will, and we have experienced and expert facilities for the administration of trusts and estates.

I hope that we may have the opportunity of demonstrating the value of some or all of these services to you; it would be a privilege to have you call and become acquainted with the officers in charge of these various departments.

I am

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) Lucius Clark, President.

A letter offering to act as executor

GRIGGS NATIONAL BANK 28 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK

June 25, 1923.

Mr. Lawrence Loring, 11 River Avenue, Yonkers, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

May I call to your attention the question which every man of property must at some time gravely consider, and that is the disposition of his estate after death?

I presume that as a prudent man you have duly executed a last will and testament, and I presume that it has been drawn with competent legal advice. But the execution of the will is only the beginning. After your death will come the administration of the estate, and it is being more and more recognized that it is not the part of wisdom to leave the administration of an estate in the hands of an individual.

It used to be thought that an executor could be qualified by friendship or relationship, but unfortunately it has been proved through the sad experience of many estates that good intentions and integrity do not alone make a good executor. Skill and experience also are needed.

This company maintains a trust department, under the supervision of Mr. Thomas G. Shelling, our trust officer, who has had many years of experience in the administration of estates. Associated with him is a force of specialists who can care for any situation, usual or unusual, that may arise. The services of these men can be placed at your disposal. I can offer to you not only their expert services but also the continuity of a great institution.

Individuals die. Institutions do not die. If you will turn over in your mind what may be the situation thirty years hence of any individual whom you might presently think of as an executor, I believe you will be impressed with the necessity for the continuity of service that can be offered only by a corporation. In many cases there are personal matters in the estate which a testator may believe can best be handled only by some of his friends. In such a case it is usual to join the individual executors with a corporate executor.

It would be a privilege to be able to discuss these matters with you.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) Lucius Clark, President.

P.S. Wills are quite frequently lost or mislaid and sometimes months elapse before they are discovered. It is needless to point out the expense and inconvenience which may be entailed. We are happy to keep wills free of charge.

A letter offering tax services

INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK INTERVALE, N. Y.

June 1, 1923.

Mr. Michael Graham, Intervale, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

This bank is prepared to advise you in the preparation of your income and other tax returns. It is a service that is yours for the asking, and we hope that you will avail yourself of it.

The department is open during banking hours, but if these hours are not convenient to you, special appointments can be made.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) Samuel Drake, President.

A letter giving the record of the bank

INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK INTERVALE, N. Y.

July 6, 1923.

Mr. Donald West, Intervale, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

As a depositor you will be interested in the enclosed booklet which records what the officers and directors think is a notable showing for the bank during the past year. I hope that you will also find it inspiring and will pass it on to a friend who is not a depositor with us.

May I thank you for your patronage during the past year, and believe me

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) Samuel Drake, President.

LETTERS OF ORDER AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Order where the price of articles is known

North Conway, N. H., August 19, 1921.

Messrs. L. T. Banning, 488 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

Gentlemen:

Please send me, at your earliest convenience, by United States Express, the following:

1 doz. linen handkerchiefs, tape edge, regular size $ 6.00 1 pr. Triumph garters, silk, black .75 4 white oxford tennis shirts, size 15-1/2 @ $3.00 12.00 6 pr. white lisle socks, size 11 @ $.50 3.00

Total $21.75

I am enclosing a money order for $21.75.

Yours very truly, Oscar Trent.

Enclosure (Money Order)

Order where the price is not known

Flint, Michigan, July 14, 1922.

The Rotunda, 581 State Street, Chicago, Ill.

Gentlemen:

Please send as soon as possible the following:

2 prs. camel's hair sport stockings, wide-ribbed, size 9 1 blue flannel middy blouse, red decoration, size 16 1 "Dix make" housedress, white pique, size 38 1 copy of "Main Street"

I enclose a money order for thirty dollars ($30.00) and will ask you to refund any balance in my favor after deducting for invoice and express charges.

Very truly yours, Florence Kepp.

Encl. M. O.

Williamsport, Pa., March 10, 1921.

Carroll Bros., 814 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Gentlemen:

Please send me the following articles by parcels post as soon as possible:

2 doz. paper napkins, apple blossom or nasturtium design 1 "Century" cook book 1 pair "Luxury" blue felt bedroom slippers, leather sole and heel 1 large bar imported Castile soap 1 pair elbow length white silk gloves, size 6-3/4

Enclosed is a money order for $15.00. Please refund any balance due me.

Yours truly, Janet M. Bent (Mrs. Elmer Bent)

Formal acknowledgments

It is still a formal custom to acknowledge some kinds of orders by a printed or an engraved form. Some of the older New York business houses use the engraved forms which arose in the days before typewriters and they are very effective.

General acknowledgment forms

THE GENERAL STORES CO. CHICAGO, ILL.

April 18, 1923.

Mr. Walter Crump, 29 Adams Street, Maple Centre, Ill.

Dear Sir:

We acknowledge with thanks your order No. which will be entered for immediate shipment and handled under our No. to which you will please refer if you have occasion to write about it.

If we are unable to ship promptly we will write you fully under separate cover.

Very truly yours, The General Stores Co. S.

THE GENERAL STORES CO., CHICAGO, ILL.

June 13, 1922.

Mr. Joseph Ward, Wadsworth Hill, Ill.

Dear Sir:

We have received your order requesting attention to No. .

Unless special attention is demanded, the routine schedule is on a ten-day basis, and we therefore expect to _ your instrument on or about __.

In corresponding on this subject please refer to order No. _.

Very truly yours, The General Stores Co. S.

In answer to a letter without sufficient data

THE GENERAL STORES CO. CHICAGO, ILL.

September 8, 1922.

Mrs. Benjamin Brown, Carr City, Ill.

Dear Madam:

We thank you for your order recently received for one shirt waist and two pairs of stockings.

We were unable to proceed with the order, as the size of the waist was not given. If you would be kind enough to state what size you wish, we shall gladly make immediate shipment.

Very truly yours, The General Stores Co. S.

Where the goods are not in hand

L. &. L. YOUNG 600 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, N. Y.

November 3, 1921.

Mrs. John Evans, 500 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

We are out of size 5 B at present in the white kid shoes you desire, but we should be pleased to order a pair for you, if you wish, which would take two weeks. If this is not satisfactory to you, perhaps you will call and select another pair.

Kindly let us know what you wish done in this matter.

Very truly yours, L. & L. Young.

LETTERS OF COMPLAINT AND ADJUSTMENT

The letter of complaint is purely a matter of stating exactly what the trouble is. The letter replying to the complaint is purely an affair of settling the trouble on a mutually satisfactory basis. The Marshall Field attitude that "the customer is always right" is the one that it pays to assume. The customer is by no means always right, but in the long run the goodwill engendered by this course is worth far more than the inevitable losses through unfair customers. The big Chicago mail order houses have been built up on the principle of returning money without question. Legalistic quibbles have no place in the answer to a complaint. The customer is rightly or wrongly dissatisfied; business is built only on satisfied customers. Therefore the question is not to prove who is right but to satisfy the customer. This doctrine has its limitations, but it is safer to err in the way of doing too much than in doing too little.

Claims for damaged goods

This letter is complete in that it states what the damage is.

420 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass., February 8, 1922.

Messrs. Wells & Sons, 29 Summer Street, Boston, Mass.

Gentlemen:

The furniture that I bought on February 3rd came to-day in good condition with the exception of one piece, the green enamel tea-wagon. That has a crack in the glass tray and the lower shelf is scratched. Will you kindly call for it and, if you have one like it in stock, send it to me to replace the damaged one?

Very truly yours, Edna Joyce Link. (Mrs. George Link)

830 Main Street, Saltview, N. Y., May 2, 1921.

Acme Dishwasher Co., Syracuse, N. Y.

Gentlemen:

I regret to inform you that the Acme dishwasher which I purchased from your local dealer, I. Jacobs, on December 4, 1920, has failed to live up to your one-year guarantee. In fact, the dishwasher is now in such bad condition that I have not used it for three weeks.

I must therefore request that in accordance with the terms of your guarantee you refund the purchase price of ninety dollars ($90).

Very truly yours, Eleanor Scott. (Mrs. Lawrence Scott)

Complaint of poor service

Webster Corners, Mo., April 24, 1920.

Messrs. Peter Swann Co., Kansas City, Mo.

Gentlemen:

Attention Mr. Albert Brann.

On Tuesday last I bought at your store two boys' wash suits. This is Monday and the goods have not yet been delivered. The delay has caused me great inconvenience. If this were the first time that you had been careless in sending out orders I should feel less impatient, but three times within the last four weeks I have been similarly annoyed.

On March 3rd I sent back my bill for correction, goods returned not having been credited to my account. On March 15th the bill was again sent in its original form with a "please remit." I again wrote, making explanation, but to date have received no reply. If I must be constantly annoyed in this manner, I shall have to close my account.

Very truly yours, Helena Young Tremp. (Mrs. Kenneth Tremp)

Replies to letters of complaint

WELLS & SONS 29 SUMMER STREET BOSTON, MASS.

August 12, 1922.

Mrs. Samuel Sloane, Chelsea, Mass.

Dear Madam:

We have your letter of August 8th in regard to the damaged perambulator. We are very sorry indeed that it was damaged, evidently through improper crating, so that there does not seem to be any redress against the railway.

We shall be glad to make a reasonable allowance to cover the cost of repairs, or if you do not think the perambulator can be repaired, you may return it to us at our expense and we will give your account credit for it. We will send you a new one in exchange if you desire.

Very truly yours, Wells & Sons.

WELLS & SONS 29 SUMMER STREET BOSTON, MASS.

May 11, 1923.

Mrs. Julia Furniss, 29 Oak Street, Somerville, Mass.

Dear Madam:

We have received your note of May 8th in regard to the bathroom scales on your bill of May 1st.

We do not send these scales already assembled as there is considerable danger of breakage, but we shall send a man out to you on Wednesday the twelfth to set them up for you. The missing height bar will be sent to you.

Very truly yours, Wells & Sons.

THE STERLING SILVER CO. 2800 FIFTH AVE. NEW YORK

December 17, 1923.

Mrs. Daniel Everett, 290 Washington Square, New York.

Dear Madam:

We regret that it will be impossible to have your tea spoons marked as we promised. Marking orders were placed in such quantities before yours was received that the work cannot be executed before December 28th.

We are, therefore, holding the set for your further instructions and hope that this will not cause any disappointment.

Very truly yours, The Sterling Silver Co.

REX TYPEWRITER CO. 20 SO. MICHIGAN AVE. CHICAGO, ILL.

November 6, 1922.

Mr. John Harris, Wayside, Ill.

Dear Sir:

We are in receipt of the damaged No. 806 typewriter which you returned, and have forwarded a new typewriter which was charged to your account.

Please mail us a freight bill properly noted, showing that the typewriter which you returned was received in a damaged condition, so that the cost of repairs can be collected from the transportation company and the proper credit placed to your account.

Very truly yours, Rex Typewriter Co.

WELLS & SONS 29 SUMMER STREET BOSTON, MASS.

September 25, 1922.

Mr. Louis Wright, Quincy, Mass.

Dear Sir:

Our warehouse headquarters have just informed us in reply to our telegram, that your order No. 263 of September 6th was shipped on September 14th by express direct.

We regret the delay, and hope the goods have already reached you.

Very truly yours, Wells & Sons.

WELLS & SONS 29 SUMMER STREET BOSTON, MASS.

June 7, 1923.

Mrs. Ralph Curtis, 5928 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass.

Dear Madam:

We are sorry to learn from your letter of June 5th that you found two buttons missing from your suit. We have no more buttons like the one you enclosed and cannot get any, as the suit is an import. But if you will let us know the number of buttons in the entire set, we will send you a complete set of buttons as nearly like the sample as possible.

I hope this will be a satisfactory solution.

Very truly yours, Wells & Sons.

A routine letter of adjustment

HALL BROTHERS 500 FOURTH STREET DAYTON, O.

January 28,1923.

Mr. Philip Drew, 480 Milk Street, Boston, Mass.

Dear Sir:

We have received your letter of and regret to learn that . We will carefully investigate the matter at once and within a day or two will write you fully.

Very truly yours, Hall Brothers.

WELLS & SONS 29 SUMMER STREET BOSTON, MASS

January 2, 1923.

Mr. George Larabee, Sunnyside, Vt.

Dear Sir:

In compliance with your request of December 27th we shall mail our check to-morrow for $16.98 for the humidor which you returned. We regret very much the delay in this matter. Our only excuse for it is the holiday rush in our delivery department which prevented the delivery of the humidor in time for Christmas.

We hope you will overlook the delay and give as another opportunity to serve you.

Very truly yours, Wells & Sons.

CREDIT AND COLLECTION LETTERS

Business is done largely on credit, but comparatively few men in business seem to understand that in the letters concerning accounts lies a large opportunity for business building. The old-style credit man thinks that it is all important to avoid credit losses; he opens an account suspiciously and he chases delinquent accounts in the fashion that a dog goes after a cat.

Business is not an affair of simply not losing money: it is an affair of making money. Many a credit grantor with a perfect record with respect to losses may be a business killer; he may think that his sole function is to prevent losses. His real function is to promote business. The best credit men in the country are rarely those with the smallest percentage of losses, although it does happen that the man who regards every customer as an asset to be conserved in the end has very few losses.

Therefore, in credit granting, in credit refusing, and in collection, the form letter is not to be used without considerable discrimination. It is inadvisable to strike a personal note, and many firms have found it advantageous to get quite away from the letter in the first reminders of overdue accounts. They use printed cards so that the recipient will know that the request is formal and routine.

Another point to avoid is disingenuousness, such as "accounts are opened for the convenience of customers." That is an untrue statement. They are opened as a part of a method of doing business and that fact ought clearly to be recognized. It does not help for good feeling to take the "favoring" attitude. Every customer is an asset; every prospective customer is a potential asset. They form part of the good-will of the concern.

Tactless credit handling is the most effective way known to dissipate good-will.

To open a charge account

4601 Fourth Avenue, New York, May 3, 1922.

Hoyt & Jennings, 32 East Forty Eighth Street, New York.

Gentlemen:

I desire to open a credit account with your company.

Will you let me know what information you desire?

Very truly yours, Harold Grant.

or, according to the circumstances any of the following may be used:

I desire to open a line of credit _____ I desire to open an account ______ I desire to maintain an open account ____ I desire to maintain a charge account ____

Replies to application for credit

HOYT & JENNINGS 32 EAST 48TH ST. NEW YORK

May 8, 1923.

Mr. Harold Grant, 48 Dey Street, New York.

Dear Sir:

May we thank you for your letter of May 3rd in which you expressed a desire to have an account with us?

We enclose a copy of our usual form and trust that we shall have the privilege of serving you.

Yours very truly, (Handwritten) F. Burdick, Credit Manager, Hoyt & Jennings.

HOYT & JENNINGS 32 EAST 48TH STREET NEW YORK

May 18, 1923.

Mr. Harold Grant, 48 Dey Street, New York.

Dear Sir:

We are glad to notify you that, in accordance with your request, a charge account has been opened in your name.

At the beginning of our new business relations, we wish to assure you that we shall try to give satisfaction, both with our goods and with our service. Whenever you purchase an article, it is simply necessary that you inform the sales person waiting on you that you have a charge account—and then give your name and address.

As is customary in our business, a statement of purchases made during the preceding month will be rendered and will be due on the first of each month.

We are awaiting with pleasant anticipation the pleasure of serving you.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) F. Burdick, Credit Manager, Hoyt & Jennings.

Refusing credit

(This is one of the most difficult of all letters to write and one in which extreme care should be used for it may happen that the references have not replied accurately or that there may be somewhere an error. Many people entitled to credit have never asked for it and therefore have trouble in giving references. A brusque refusal will certainly destroy a potential customer and is always to be avoided. The best plan is to leave the matter open. Then, if the applicant for credit has really a standing, he will eventually prove it.)

HOYT & JENNINGS 32 EAST 48TH STREET NEW YORK

Mr. Harold Grant, 48 Dey Street, New York.

Dear Sir:

May we thank you for your letter of May 5th and for the names of those whom you were kind enough to give as references?

The information that we have received from them is unfortunately not quite complete enough for the purposes of our formal records. Would you care to furnish us with further references in order that the account may be properly opened? Or perhaps you would rather call in person.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) F. Burdick, Credit Manager, Hoyt & Jennings.

Where an order has been sent in by one who has not opened an account

GREGORY SUPPLY CO. 114 MAIN STREET BALTIMORE, MD.

July 13, 1923.

J. K. Cramer & Brothers, New Sussex, Md.

Gentlemen:

We write to thank you for your order of July 10th, amounting to $320 and we are anxious to make shipment quickly.

Our records do not show that we have previously been receiving your orders and hence unfortunately we have not the formal information desired by our credit department so that we can open the account that we should like to have in your name. For we trust that this will be only the first of many purchases.

Will you favor us by filling out the form enclosed and mailing it back as soon as convenient? The information, of course, will be held strictly confidential.

We are preparing the order for shipment and it will be ready to go out.

Yours truly, (Handwritten) B. Allen, Credit Manager Gregory Supply Co.

LETTERS TO REFERENCES GIVEN BY THE APPLICANT

To a bank (A bank will not give specific information)

GREGORY SUPPLY CO. 114 MAIN STREET BALTIMORE, MD.

July 25, 1923.

Haines National Bank, Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen:

We have received a request from Mr. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., who informs us that he maintains an account with you for the extension of credit. He has given you as a reference.

Will you kindly advise us, in confidence and with whatever particularity you find convenient, what you consider his credit rating? Any other information that you may desire to give will be appreciated.

We trust that we may have the opportunity to reciprocate your courtesy.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) B. Allen, Credit Manager, Gregory Supply Co.

To a commercial house

GREGORY SUPPLY CO. 114 MAIN STREET BALTIMORE, MD.

July 25, 1923.

Bunce & Co., 29 Vine Ave., Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen:

We shall be much obliged to you if you will kindly inform us concerning your credit experience with Mr. J. K. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., who desires to open an account with us and who has referred us to you.

We shall be happy at any time to reciprocate the courtesy.

Yours truly, (Handwritten) B. Allen, Credit Manager Gregory Supply Co.

Another letter of the same description in a printed form

(Name and address to be typewritten in)

GREGORY SUPPLY CO. 114 MAIN STREET BALTIMORE, MD.

(Date to be typewritten in)

Gentlemen:

J. K. Cramer, of New Sussex, Md., desires to open an account with our store and has given your name as a reference.

Your courtesy in answering the questions given below will be appreciated. We shall be glad to reciprocate it at any time.

Yours truly, Gregory Supply Co.

(Please fill out and return as soon as convenient.)

1. Has he an account with you now? 2. How long has he had the account? 3. How does he pay? Prompt Medium Slow 4. Have you ever had difficulty in collecting? 5. What limit have you placed on the account? 6. Special information.

In reply to the above

(A)

BUNCE & COMPANY 89 STATE ST. BALTIMORE, MD.

July 29, 1923.

Gregory Supply Co., Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen:

In reply to your letter of October 14th in which you inquire concerning the responsibility of J. K. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., we are glad to help you with the following information.

Mr. Cramer has had a charge account with our store during the last five years. Our records show that he has always met our bills in a satisfactory manner. His account is noted for a monthly limit of $300, but he has never reached it.

Our own experience is that Mr. Cramer is a desirable customer.

Yours very truly, Bunce & Company.

(B)

WALSH MACHINE CO. 29 ELM STREET BALTIMORE, MD.

July 30, 1923.

Gregory Supply Co., Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen:

Concerning Mr. J. K. C., about whom you inquired in your letter of October 14th, our records show that our experience with this account has not been satisfactory.

We find that during the last five years in which he has had an account with us he has caused us considerable trouble with regard to his payments. At the present moment he owes us $240 for purchases made approximately six months ago, to recover which amount we have instructed our attorneys to institute legal proceedings.

We hope that this information will be of assistance to you.

Yours very truly, Walsh Machine Co.

PLUM BROTHERS 2800 BROAD STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA.

July 31, 1923.

Gregory Supply Co., 614 Main Street, Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen:

We are glad to give you the information you wish concerning our experiences with the A. B. C. Company, about whom you inquire in your letter of April 9th.

The company first came to us on November 8, 1920. On that date they purchased from us 50 lawn mowers at a total cost of $500. They took advantage of the discount by paying the bill on November 18th.

In January, 1921, they gave us an order for 100 at a total cost of $900. This bill they paid in February.

Their latest purchase from us was in July, 1921. At this time their order amounted to 25 lawn mowers. They paid the bill in October after we had sent them several requests for remittance.

We trust this information will be of some value to you in determining just what amount of credit you may feel justified in extending to them.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) H. Plum, Plum Brothers.

Offering credit

DWIGHT & DAVIS 89 PARK STREET ALBANY, N. Y.

October 9, 1922.

Mrs. Herbert Reid, 1400 Fourth Avenue, Albany, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

Whenever you wish to come in and purchase without cash, it will be a great pleasure to us to open a charge account with you.

We have made a record here in the store so that whenever you call it will have been arranged for you to purchase whatever you want.

We think you will approve of the character of service and the quality of merchandise. We wish to win not only your patronage, but your friendship for our store.

Every up-to-date woman realizes the many benefits, the conveniences, and even prestige she enjoys through having a charge account at a dependable store.

A store, in turn, is judged by its charge accounts—it is rated by the women who have accounts there.

And so, because of your standing in the community, if you avail yourself of our invitation to do your buying here, you are reflecting credit both on yourself and on us.

We hope you will decide to let us serve you—all our facilities are completely at your service.

We should like you to feel that our store is especially adapted to your needs.

Yours very truly, (Handwritten) C. Dale, Credit Manager, Dwight & Davis.

SUMMIT BOX COMPANY KANSAS CITY, MO.

November 13, 1923.

George Harrow & Co., 29 Fifth Street, Kansas City, Mo.

Gentlemen:

We want to thank you for your order of November 10th, with your check enclosed in full payment. We appreciate the business you have been giving us. The thought has frequently occurred to us that you may desire the advantages of an open account with us. We believe that such an arrangement will make transactions more convenient. We therefore have the pleasure of notifying you that we have noted your account for our regular credit terms of 2% 10 net 30, up to a limit of $500.

We hope that both your business and our acquaintance with you will develop to such an extent that it will be a pleasure to extend to you from time to time larger credit accommodations to take care of your increasing needs.

The business relations between us have been so agreeable that we feel they will continue so. Please remember that if we can ever be of assistance to you in helping you in your business we only ask that you call upon us.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) G. Harris Credit Manager Summit Box Company.

Collection letters may very easily be overdone. The old idea was that any expense or any threat was justified if it got the money, but among the more advanced collection departments common sense has crept in, and it has been ascertained by cost-finding methods that it is not worth while to pursue a small account beyond a certain point and that when that point is reached it is economy to drop the matter. How far it is wise to go in attempting to collect an account is an affair of costs, unless one has a penchant for throwing good money after bad.

The point to bear in mind in writing a collection letter is that it is a collection letter—that it is an effort to get money which is owed. It would not seem necessary to emphasize so entirely self-evident a point were it not unfortunately sometimes overlooked and the collection letter made an academic exercise. There is no excuse for a long series of collection letters—say eight or ten of them. After a man has received three or four letters you can take it for granted that he is beyond being moved by words. You must then have recourse to some other mode of reaching him. Drawing on a debtor is also of small use; the kind of a man who will honor a collection draft would pay his bill anyhow.

If a debtor has assets and there is no dispute concerning the account, he will usually pay. He may pay because you threaten him, but most people with the ability to owe money are quite impervious to threats, and although a threatening letter may seem to bring results, it can never be the best letter because on the other side of the ledger must be recorded the loss of the customer. The average writer of a collection letter usually gets to threatening something or other and quite often exposes himself to the danger of counter legal action. (See Chapter XI on The Law of Letters.)

The most successful collection men do not threaten. The best of them actually promote good-will through their handling of the accounts. The bully-ragging, long-winded collection letter has no place in self-respecting business. The so-called statements of collection by which papers drawn up to resemble writs are sent through the mails, or served, not only have no place in business but many of them are actually illegal.

The letters which are appended have been chosen both for their effectiveness and their courtesy. They represent the best practice. It is, by the way, not often wise for the creditor to set out his own need for money as a reason why the debtor should pay the account. It is true that the sympathy of the debtor may be aroused, but the tale of misery may lead him to extend comfort rather than aid. However, several such letters have been included, not because they are good but because sometimes they may be used.

Collection letters

Most firms have adopted a series of collection letters beginning with the routine card reminder of an overdue account and following with gradually increasingly personal second, third, fourth, and so on, letters.

First letter—printed card

THE ENCLOSED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT IS SENT TO YOU AS WE BELIEVE YOU HAVE OVERLOOKED ITS PAYMENT.

STONE BROTHERS

Second letter

STONE BROTHERS NEW YORK

March 15, 1917.

Miss Grace Duncan, 146 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

There appears an amount of $29.36 open in your name for the months of October to January which, according to our terms of sale, is now overdue, and if no adjustment is necessary, we trust you will kindly favor us with a check in settlement.

Very truly yours, Stone Brothers, New York, (Handwritten) James Miller, Collection Manager.



Third letter

STONE BROTHERS NEW YORK

April 2, 1917.

Miss Grace Duncan, 146 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

Our letters of February 15th and March 15th have brought no reply from you. Since they have not been returned by the Post Office we must presume that you received them.

You naturally wish to keep your credit clear. We wish to have it clear. It is really a mutual affair. Will you not send a check and keep the account on a pleasant basis?

Very truly yours, Stone Brothers, (Handwritten) James Miller, Collection Manager. The amount is $29.36.

Fourth letter

STONE BROTHERS NEW YORK

April 16, 1917.

Miss Grace Duncan, 146 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, New York.

Dear Madam:

We have no desire to resort to the law to collect the $29.36 due us, but unless your remittance is in our hands by May 1st, we shall take definite steps for the legal collection of your account. May we hear from you at once?

Very truly yours, Stone Brothers, (Handwritten) James Miller, Collection Manager.

The following are collection letters of varying degrees of personal tone. In these seven letters are given the body of the letter, with the salutation and the complimentary close. Headings and signatures have been omitted.

Dear Sir:

A statement is enclosed of your account, which is now past due. A remittance will be appreciated.

Yours truly,

Dear Madam:

We desire to call your attention again to your past-due account for the month of January for $90.52, a statement of which was mailed to you several weeks ago. We shall appreciate receiving your check in payment of this account by return mail.

Very truly yours,

Gentlemen:

Two weeks ago we mailed you a statement of account due at that time, and as we have heard nothing from you we thought it possible that our letter may have miscarried. We are sending you a duplicate of the former statement, which we hope may reach you safely and have your attention.

Very truly yours,

To follow the preceding letter

Gentlemen:

We call your attention to the enclosed statement of account which is now past due. We have sent you two statements previous to this, to which you seem to have given no attention.

It may be possible that you have overlooked the matter, but we hope this will be a sufficient reminder and that you will oblige us with a remittance without further delay.

Very truly yours,

Dear Sir:

We are enclosing a statement of your account and we request as a special favor that you send us a remittance previous to the 28th of this month if possible. The amount is small, but not the less important. We have unusually heavy obligations maturing on the first of next month and you will understand that for the proper conduct of business the flow of credit should not be dammed up.

In looking over your account for the last few months, it occurs to us that we are not getting a great deal of your business. If this is due to any failure or negligence on our part, perhaps you will undertake to show us where we are lacking because we surely want all of your business that we can get.

Very truly yours,

Follow-up letters

Dear Sir:

We wrote you on 18th February and enclosed a statement of your account. We hoped at the time that you would send us a check by return mail. If our account does not agree with your books, kindly let us know at once so that we may promptly adjust the differences.

We hope that you can accommodate us as requested in our previous letter and that we will hear from you by the 10th of March. We again assure you that a remittance at this particular time will be greatly appreciated.

Also please remember that we want your orders, too. Prices on copper wire are likely to make a sharp advance within a few days.

Very truly yours,

January 19, 1921.

Dear Sir:

We are enclosing a statement showing the condition of your account at this writing, and we must ask you to be kind enough to do your utmost to forward us your check by return mail.

Our fiscal year closes January 31st and it is naturally our pride and endeavor to have as many accounts closed and in good standing as is possible for the coming year, and this can materialize only with your kind cooeperation.

Very truly yours,

LETTERS OF APPLICATION

Application for position as stenographer

648 West 168th Street, New York, N. Y., April 4, 1922.

Mr. B. C. Kellerman, 1139 Broad Street, New York, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

This may interest you:

I can take dictation at an average rate of 100 words a minute and I can read my notes. They are always accurate. If you will try me, you will find you do not have to repeat any dictation. I never misspell words.

I am nineteen, a high school graduate, quick and accurate at figures. I have a good position now, uptown, but I should prefer to be with some large corporation downtown. I am interested in a position with room at the top.

I am willing to work for $18 a week until I have demonstrated my ability and then I know you will think me worth more.

A letter or a telephone message will bring me in any morning you say to take your morning's dictation, write your letters, and leave the verdict to you.

Will you let me try?

Very truly yours, Edith Hoyt. Telephone Riverside 8100

Application for position as secretary

149 East 56th Street, Chicago, Ill., December 1, 1923.

Mr. Ralph Hodge, Boone & Co., 2000 So. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Dear Sir:

This is in answer to your advertisement for a secretary. I have had the experience and training which would, I think enable me satisfactorily to fill such a position. I recognize, of course, that whatever my experience and training have been they would be worse than useless unless they could be modified to suit your exact requirements. (Here set out the experience.)

The lowest salary I have ever received was twelve dollars a week, when I began work. The highest salary I have received was thirty dollars a week, but I think that it would be better to leave the salary matter open until it might be discovered whether I am worth anything or nothing.

Very truly yours, (Miss) Mary Rogers.

Answer to an advertisement from an applicant who has had no experience

245 East 83rd Street, Chicago, Ill.

Mr. Ralph Hodge, Boone & Co., 2000 So. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Dear Sir:

This is in answer to your advertisement for a secretary, in which you ask that the experience of the applicant be set forth. I have had no experience whatsoever as a secretary. Therefore, although I might have a great deal to learn, I should have nothing to unlearn.

I understand what is expected of a secretary, and I hope that I have at least the initial qualifications. I have had a fair education, having graduated from Central High School and the Crawford Business Academy, and I have done a great deal of reading. I am told that I can write a good letter. I know that I can take any kind of dictation and that I can transcribe it accurately, and I have no difficulty in writing letters from skeleton suggestions.

Your advertisement does not give the particular sort of business that you are engaged in, but in the course of my reading I have gathered a working knowledge of economics, finance, business practice, and geography, some of which might be useful. I am writing this letter in spite of the fact that you specified that experience was necessary, because one of my friends, who is secretary to a very well-known corporation president, told me that she began in her present place quite without experience and found herself helped rather than handicapped by the lack of it.

I am twenty-two years old and I can give you any personal or social references that you might care for. I have no ideas whatsoever on salary. In fact, it would be premature even to think of anything of the kind. What I am most anxious about is to have a talk with you.

Very truly yours, (Miss) Margaret Booth.

Applications for position as sales manager

1249 Huntington Ave., Boston, Mass.

Mr. Henry Jessup, White Manufacturing Co., 89 Milk Street, Columbus, O.

Dear Sir:

Mr. A. C. Brown of the Bronson Company tells me you are in immediate need of a sales manager for the Western Illinois territory.

Western Illinois offers a promising opportunity for the sale of farm implements and devices. During my experience with the Johnson & Jones Company, I got to know the people of this section very well, and I know how to approach them. The farmers are well-to-do and ready for improvements that will better their homes, lands, and stock. There could not be a better place to start.

As Mr. Brown will tell you, I have been with the Bronson Company for five years. I started as clerk in the credit office, gradually working out into the field—first as investigator, then salesman, and for the last two years as sales manager of the Western Virginia territory. The returns from this field have increased 100 per cent. since I began. With the hearty cooeperation of the men on the road, I have built up a system about which I should like to tell you. It would work out splendidly selling Defiance Harrows in Western Illinois.

My home is in Joliet and I want to make my headquarters there. I have no other reason for quitting the Bronson Company, who are very fair as far as salary and advancement are considered.

My telephone number is Cherry 100. A wire or letter will bring me to Columbus to talk with you.

Very truly yours, Gerald Barbour.

70 Blain Ave., Boston, Mass., May 4, 1921.

Mr. John Force, 6 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

Dear Sir:

This letter may be of some concern to you. I am not a man out of a job, but have what most men would consider one that is first-class. But I want to change, and if you can give me a little of your time, I will tell you why and how that fact may interest you.

In a word, I have outgrown my present position. I want to get in touch with a business that is wide-awake and progressive; one that will permit me to work out, unhampered, my ideas on office organization and management—ideas that are well-founded, conservative, and efficient. My present position does not give play to initiative.

If you at this time happen to be looking for a man really to manage your office, audit accounts, or take charge of credits, my qualifications and business record will show you that I am able to act in any or all of these capacities.

I have written with confidence because I am sure of myself, and if I undertake to direct your work, you may be assured that it has a big chance of being successful.

If you so desire, I shall be glad to submit references in a personal interview.

Very truly yours, Clive Drew. Telephone Winthrop 559-w

Answers to letters of application

HARRISON NATIONAL BANK TRENTON, N. J.

February 2, 1923.

Mr. James Russell, 63 State Street, Trenton, N. J.

Dear Sir:

I wish to acknowledge your letter of application of December 8th. At present we have no vacancies of the type you desire. I am, however, placing your application on file.

Very truly yours, Samuel Caldwell.

HARRISON NATIONAL BANK TRENTON, N. J.

February 2, 1923.

Mr. James Russell, 63 State Street, Trenton, N. J.

Dear Sir:

I wish to acknowledge your letter of application of December 8th. At present we have no vacancies of the type that you desire. However, I should be very glad to have a talk with you on December 12th at my office at four o'clock.

Very truly yours, Samuel Caldwell.

LETTERS OF REFERENCE

Letter asking for reference

468 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa., May 5, 1923.

Mr. William Moyer, Triumph Hosiery Co., 4000 Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

My dear Mr. Moyer:

I am looking for a position as cashier with the Bright Weaving Company. My duties there would be similar in every way to my work in your office, and a recommendation from you would help greatly.

Mr. Sawyer, the first vice-president of the Bright Weaving Company, knows you personally, hence an opinion from you would have particular effect.

Your kindness would be deeply appreciated, as have been all your kindnesses in the past.

Yours very sincerely, Philip Rockwell.

A useful practice adopted by some firms is the requirement of a photograph from every applicant for a position.

HADDON IRON WORKS PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Paste photograph of applicant here April 30, 1917.

B. F. Harlow & Co., Paterson, N. J.

Dear Sirs:

Philip Smith (photo attached) has applied to us for a position as steamfitter.

His application states that he has been in your employ for three years and that he is leaving to take a position in this city.

As all applicants are required by us to furnish references as to character and ability, we shall appreciate your giving us the following information.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) Samuel Sloane, Employment Manager.

Is his statement correct? Are his character and habits good? Had he the confidence of his employers? Can he fill the position for which he has applied?

Remarks: Signed Dated

Some general letters of recommendation

March 4, 1923.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have known the bearer, John Hope, for four years. He is of fine family and has been one of our most highly regarded young men. I would heartily recommend him.

Richard Brown.

April 18, 1922.

Gentlemen:

The bearer, George Frothingham, is a young man of my acquaintance whom I know and whose family I have known for some time. They are splendid people. This boy is ambitious and thoroughly reliable. I hope you can find a place for him.

Very truly yours, Gerald Law.

June 16, 1922.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to certify that the bearer, Ernest Hill, is an acquaintance of mine, a man whom I know to be thoroughly trustworthy.

Harold Smith.

July 12, 1923.

Dear Sir:

This is to certify that Joseph Rance has been in my employ for eighteen months. He is a most willing and able worker, honest, steady, and faithful. I regret that I was obliged to let him go from my employ. I feel very safe in highly recommending him to you.

Very truly yours, George Bunce.

Recommendation for a special position

HARCOURT MANUFACTURING CO. 29 BOYLSTON STREET BOSTON, MASS.

October 10, 1921.

Mr. Gordon Edwards, 48 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.

Dear Mr. Edwards:

At luncheon last Wednesday you mentioned that you were in need of another advertising writer. If the position is still open, I should like to recommend Mr. Bruce Walker.

When I first met Mr. Walker he was with Bellamy, Sears & Co., Boston, and was doing most of their newspaper advertising. His work was so good that I offered him a position as advertising writer with us. He accepted, with the approval of Bellamy Sears & Co., and has been with me for the last three years. He has written for us some of the best drawing copy that we ever used, and his work has been satisfactory in every way. He is original and modern in his advertising ideas, and knows how to express them forcefully but without exaggeration. His English is perfect.

I shall greatly regret losing Mr. Walker, but I cannot advance him above his present position, and I agree with him that he is equal to a bigger position than he has here. I hope you can give him the opportunity that he seeks. If you will see him personally, you will oblige both him and me.

Very sincerely yours, B. A. Yeomans.

Thanks for recommendation

29 Kelley Ave., Cleveland, O., October 4, 1923.

Mr. John Saunders, Jones Publishing Co., Cleveland, O.

My dear Mr. Saunders:

Your influence and kindly interest have secured for me the position with Tully & Clark. I want to thank you for the excellent recommendation which you gave me and to assure you that I shall give my best attention to my new work.

Very truly yours, John Dillon.

LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION

The method of delivering letters of introduction is fully described under social letters of introduction.

Answer to a request for a letter of introduction

89 Grand Ave., Detroit, Mich., August 8, 1923.

Mr. Albert Hall, 29 Main Street, Detroit, Mich.

My dear Mr. Hall:

Accompanying this note you find letters of introduction which I hope will be what you want.

I am glad to give you these letters and should you need any further assistance of this kind, please consider me at your disposal.

Yours truly, Clement Wilks.

General letters of introduction

89 Grand Ave., Detroit, Mich., August 8, 1923.

This will introduce the bearer, Mr. Albert Hall, whom I personally know as being a gentleman in conduct and reputation.

Any courtesy shown to Mr. Hall I shall consider a favor to myself, and I ask for him all possible attention and service.

Clement Wilks.

June 9, 1923.

To Whom It May Concern:

The bearer, David Clark, has been an acquaintance of mine for five years. He is a young man of good habits. I would recommend him for any position within his ability.

Ellery Saunders.

Special introduction

(The inside address, heading, and signature are to be supplied)

Dear Sir:

Mr. Walter Green, whom this will introduce to you, is a member of our Credit Department. He is visiting New York on a personal matter, but he has offered to make a personal investigation of the Crump case and I have advised him to see you, as the man who knows most about that affair. If you can find the time to give him a brief interview, you will do him a favor, and I also shall appreciate it.

Yours very truly, ___ Vice-President.

Introducing a stenographer in order to secure a position for her

100 Wall Street, New York, N. Y., February 6, 1921.

Mr. William Everett, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.

My dear Mr. Everett:

The bearer of this letter, Miss Mildred Bryan, my stenographer, is available for a position, owing to the fact that I am moving my office to Cincinnati.

She is an unusually competent young woman—quick, accurate, intelligent, and familiar with the routine of a law office.

If you need a stenographer, you cannot do better than engage Miss Bryan, and I am taking the liberty of giving her this letter for you.

Very truly yours, Howard S. Briggs.

LETTERS OF INQUIRY

Requests for information

Bradford Mills, Pa., August 9, 1923.

Dr. Louis Elliott, 29 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

My dear Dr. Elliott:

I am writing a paper on Vitamines to be read before the Mothers' Club, an organization of Bradford Mills mothers.

I have drawn most of my material from your article in the Medical Magazine, acknowledging, of course, the source of my information. There are several points, however, on which I am not clear. As it is of great importance that this subject be presented to the mothers correctly, I am addressing you personally to get the facts.

1. Am I to understand that no other foods than those you mention contain these vitamines?

2. Are all the classes of vitamines necessary to life and will a child fed on foods containing all the known vitamines be better conditioned than one fed on only one kind?

I shall greatly appreciate your answering my questions. The members of the club have shown surprising interest in this matter of food.

Yours sincerely, Mabel Manners.

128 East Forty-Sixth Street, New York, N. Y., June 15, 1922.

The Prentiss Candy Co., Long Island City, N. Y.

Gentlemen:

The Better Food Magazine, to which I am a contributor, has asked me to make an investigation of the manufacture of the most widely advertised foods, with a view to writing an article on foods for the magazine.

I should like if possible to talk with someone and to make a short visit to the factory. If you can arrange an appointment for me during the next week, will you let me know? I shall greatly appreciate it.

Very truly yours, (Miss) Vera Henderson.

Answers to letters of inquiry

THE PRENTISS CANDY CO. LONG ISLAND CITY, N. Y.

June 17, 1922. Miss Vera Henderson, 128 East Forty-Sixth Street, New York, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

We have your letter of 15th June and we shall be glad to give you any assistance in our power.

If you will call at the factory office next week on Tuesday the 22nd or Wednesday the 23rd and present the enclosed card to Mr. Jones, you will get all the information you desire.

Very truly yours, (Handwritten) B. J. Clark, The Prentiss Candy Co.

PINE GROVE LODGE, STANTON, N. Y. ABSOLUTELY FIREPROOF OPEN ALL THE YEAR THE FINEST RESORT HOTEL IN THE COUNTRY

May 6, 1921.

Mr. Charles Keith, 4000 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

We have your letter of May 4th and in answer we are enclosing some of our descriptive literature.

We can offer you absolute comfort together with an almost matchless environment in the points of beauty and of suitability for all sports.

Our rates are on the American plan. We have the finest American plan kitchen and table anywhere. We enclose a menu. Our single rooms with private bath are $50, $62, and $70 per week up for one person. Rooms without bath, but with hot and cold running water and adjacent to bath are $45 per week. Double rooms with private bath and furnished with two single beds are $95, $105, and $115 per week up for two persons. Rooms for two without bath are $80 per week. These rates hold until September 1st.

The difference in rates is caused by the size and location of rooms, but every room is furnished with taste and care. The decorations have been carefully thought out. There are no undesirable rooms at the Lodge and every room is an outside room. Those on the east overlook the 120-acre golf course with a magnificent view of the mountains, and those on the west front the wooded slopes of Sunset Mountain.

Stanton affords the greatest combination of scenery, health-giving climate, and facilities for enjoyment. Add to this the comforts and luxuries of a modern hotel such as Pine Grove Lodge and the result is perfect.

We feel quite sure you will find a visit here restful or lively—as you will. One of the attractions of the place is its facilities for occupying oneself in one's own way. We shall be glad to make reservation for you at any time or to answer any further inquiries.

Yours very truly, Pine Grove Lodge.

If you should receive an inquiry for advice, opinion, or information, which you do not care, for some reason, to give, you should at least reply stating that you cannot comply with the request, in as courteous a manner as possible.



CHAPTER VIII

THE USE OF FORM PARAGRAPHS

A considerable part of the day's run of correspondence in a business office has to do with not more than half-a-dozen subjects. Quotations will be asked for. Tenders will be made. Complaints will be made and received. Adjustments of various kinds will be done, and so on, through a list that varies with the particular business of the office. It is advisable to keep the tone of correspondence on a fairly uniform level. Therefore if each letter has to be individually dictated, only a man mentally equipped to write letters can do the dictating. The time of such a man is expensive and often might better be devoted to other matters. Hence the invention of what is known as a form paragraph, which is a standardized paragraph that can be used with slight variations as a section of a great many letters.

The result is that most routine mail does not have to be dictated. A letter is merely read, the essential facts dictated or noted on the letter itself, and certain symbols added which tell the stenographer the form paragraphs that are to be used. The letter is then almost mechanically produced. Some companies have gone so extensively into the writing of form paragraphs that they have sections covering practically every subject that can arise. This possibly carrying the idea too far. Convenience may become inconvenience, and there is of course always the danger of getting in a slightly unsuitable paragraph which will reveal to the reader that the letter has not been personally dictated. However, a certain number of form paragraphs considerably reduces the cost of letter writing and also conduces to the raising of the standards, for the mere reading of well-phrased form letters will often induce in an otherwise poor correspondent a certain regard for clear expression.

The proper form paragraphs that any concern may profitably use are a matter of specific investigation. The way to get at the list of useful forms is to take all of the letters received and all of the letters written during, say, one or two months and then classify them. A number of letters will have to do with purely individual cases. These letters should be discarded. They are letters which would have to be personally dictated in any event and there is no use wasting time composing forms for them. The remaining letters will fall into divisions, and through these divisions it will become apparent what points in the correspondence arise so frequently and in so nearly the same form as to be capable of being expressed in form paragraphs.

There will probably be a number of subjects which can be covered fully by two or three form letters, but a nicer adjustment will usually be had by thinking of form paragraphs rather than of form letters, for skillfully drawn and skillfully used form paragraphs will so closely simulate the personal letter as to leave no doubt in the mind of the reader that considerable trouble has been taken to put the matter before him courteously and exactly.



CHAPTER IX

CHILDREN'S LETTERS

Children's letters may be written on ordinary stationery, but it adds a good deal of interest to their letter writing if they may use some of the several pretty, special styles to be had at any good stationer's.

The following examples of children's letters include:

Letter of invitation from a child to a child. Letter of invitation from a parent to a child. Letter from a parent to a parent inviting a child. Letter of thanks to an aunt for a gift. Letter to a sick playmate. Letter to a teacher. Letter to a grandmother on her birthday.

Invitation to a birthday party

April 14, 1921.

Dear Frank:

I am going to have a birthday party next Friday afternoon, from three-thirty until six o'clock. I hope you will come and help us to have a good time.

Sincerely yours, Harriet Evans. 500 Park Avenue

Accepting

439 Manhattan Avenue, April 16, 1921.

Dear Harriet:

It is so kind of you to ask me to your birthday party next Friday afternoon. I shall be very glad to come.

Sincerely yours, Frank Dawson.

Regretting

439 Manhattan Avenue, April 16, 1921.

Dear Harriet:

I am very sorry that I cannot go to your birthday party on next Friday. My mother is taking me to visit my cousin, so I shall be away.

Thank you for asking me. I hope you will all have a great deal of fun.

Sincerely yours, Frank Dawson.

Invitation from a parent to a child

Dear Ethel:

The twins are going to have a little party on Friday afternoon and they would like you to come. Can you come at three-thirty?

Tell your mother we will arrange that you get home at six.

Cordially yours, Katherine G. Evans.

From a parent to another parent

Dear Mrs. Heywood:

Dorothy will have a birthday on Tuesday, the thirteenth of June. We are planning, if the weather is fine, to have a lawn party. Otherwise we shall have it in the house. She hopes that you will let Madeline come and I am sure they will all have a good time.

If you send Madeline at four I will see that she returns home at six.

Cordially yours, Bernice Lawson Grant.

To a friend

Bellville, Lancaster County, Pa., June 14, 1922.

Dear Bob:

Will you visit us on the farm during your summer vacation? Father has bought me a boat and we can go fishing and swimming. Mabel has a pony and I know she will let us ride him.

Please let me know if you may come and if you may stay two weeks.

Sincerely yours, Roger Palmer.

Thanks for a gift:

159 West Tenth Street. December 12, 1921.

Dear Aunt Louise:

You were wonderful to think of sending me those fine skates for my birthday. They are just the kind I wanted and I wish to thank you. I shall take good care of them.

Your affectionate nephew, John Orr.

To a sick playmate

46 Elmwood Avenue, June 16, 1922.

Dear Dorothy:

I am so sorry you are ill, but your mother says you are getting better. If you like, I shall let you have my book with the poem called "The Land of Counterpane." It is about a sick little boy who is playing with his toy soldiers and people and villages. In the picture they seem to be making him forget he is sick.

All the boys and girls hope you will soon be out to play again.

Sincerely yours, Betty Foster.

To a teacher

500 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y., February 8, 1920.

Dear Miss Sewell:

I want to thank you for your kindness in helping me with my studies, especially arithmetic. Without your help I should not have been able to pass my examinations.

Mother asks that you will come some day next week to take tea with us.

Sincerely yours, Susan Evans.

To a grandparent

Dear Grandmother:

I wish you a very happy birthday and I hope you will like the present I sent you. Mother helped me to make it.

I send you my best love.

Your loving grandchild, Evelyn.

Here is a charming letter[17] that Helen Keller when she was ten years of age wrote to John Greenleaf Whittier on the occasion of his birthday:

South Boston, Dec. 17, 1890.

Dear Kind Poet,

This is your birthday; that was the first thought which came into my mind when I awoke this morning; and it made me glad to think I could write you a letter and tell you how much your little friends love their sweet poet and his birthday. This evening they are going to entertain their friends with readings from your poems and music. I hope the swift winged messengers of love will be here to carry some of the sweet melody to you, in your little study by the Merrimac. At first I was very sorry when I found that the sun had hidden his shining face behind dull clouds, but afterwards I thought why he did it, and then I was happy. The sun knows that you like to see the world covered with beautiful white snow and so he kept back all his brightness, and let the little crystals form in the sky. When they are ready, they will softly fall and tenderly cover every object. Then the sun will appear in all his radiance and fill the world with light. If I were with you to-day I would give you eighty-three kisses, one for each year you have lived. Eighty-three years seems very long to me. Does it seem long to you? I wonder how many years there will be in eternity. I am afraid I cannot think about so much time. I received the letter which you wrote to me last summer, and I thank you for it. I am staying in Boston now at the Institution for the Blind, but I have not commenced my studies yet, because my dearest friend, Mr. Anagnos, wants me to rest and play a great deal.

Teacher is well and sends her kind remembrance to you. The happy Christmas time is almost here! I can hardly wait for the fun to begin! I hope your Christmas Day will be a very happy one and that the New Year will be full of brightness and joy for you and every one.

From your little friend Helen A. Keller.

[17] This and the letter following are from "The Story of My Life," by Helen Keller. Copyright, 1902, 1903, by Helen Keller. Published in book form by Doubleday, Page & Co.

And the distinguished poet's reply:

My dear Young Friend:

I was very glad to have such a pleasant letter on my birthday. I had two or three hundred others and thine was one of the most welcome of all. I must tell thee about how the day passed at Oak Knoll. Of course the sun did not shine, but we had great open wood fires in the rooms, which were all very sweet with roses and other flowers, which were sent to me from distant friends; and fruits of all kinds from California and other places. Some relatives and dear old friends were with me through the day. I do not wonder thee thinks eighty-three years a long time, but to me it seems but a very little while since I was a boy no older than thee, playing on the old farm at Haverhill. I thank thee for all thy good wishes, and wish thee as many. I am glad thee is at the Institution; it is an excellent place. Give my best regards to Miss Sullivan, and with a great deal of love I am

Thy old friend, John G. Whittier.



CHAPTER X

TELEGRAMS

Perhaps the most important thing to guard against in the writing of telegrams is a choice of words which, when run together, may be read two ways. As there should be no punctuation (and telegraph companies do not hold themselves responsible for punctuation) the sentences must be perfectly clear. There are instances where the use of punctuation has caused trouble.

In cases where punctuation is absolutely necessary, as for instance when more than one subject must be covered in the same message, the word "stop" is employed to divide the sentences, as:

Will arrive eight-thirty Wednesday stop telephone Gaines am coming stop will be at Hotel Pennsylvania

Therefore write sentences so that when they are run together there is only one interpretation.

Use no salutation or complimentary closing. Leave out all words that are not necessary to the meaning. Omit first-person pronouns where they are sure to be understood. Do not divide words in a telegram. Compound words are accepted as one word. Numbers should be spelled out, principally because it is more likely to insure correct transmission, and secondly because it costs less. For example, in the ordinal 24th the suffix th is counted as another word.

The minimum charge for telegrams is the cost of ten words, not counting the name, address, and signature. Nothing is saved by cutting the message to less than ten words. There is a certain fixed rate of charge for every word over ten.

In counting the words, count as one word the following:

I—Every word in the name of an individual or a concern as: Clive and Meyer Co. (four words) DeForest and Washburn Co. (four words also, as DeForest is counted as one word).

II—Every dictionary word. In the case of cablegrams, words of over fifteen letters are counted as two words.

III—Every separate letter as the "M" in "George M. Sykes" (three words).

IV—Every figure in a number as 598 (three words).

V—Names of states, territories, counties, cities, and villages.

VI—Weights and measures, decimal points, punctuation marks within the sentence.

To save expense in long messages codes can be used in which one word stands for several words. The Western Union has an established code—or private codes can be arranged. Five letters are allowed as one code word. A word of six or seven letters will thus count as two words.

In cablegrams the use of codes is common on account of the higher rate for cablegrams. Since the name, address, date, and signature are all counted, code words are frequently used for the name and address. Code language is allowed only in the first class of cable messages.

OCCASIONAL TELEGRAMS

A graceful, concise, pertinent, and well-worded "occasional" telegram is frequently not easy to write. The following forms are suggested for the composition of some of these telegrams. The longer forms can be sent most cheaply as Night Letters or Day Letters. A Night Letter of fifty words can be sent for the cost of a ten-word full-rate telegram, i.e., from 30 cents to $1.20, depending on the distance. A Day Letter of fifty words can be sent for one and one half the cost of a ten-word full-rate message, i.e., from 45 cents to $1.80, depending on the distance.

New Year greetings

Best wishes for the New Year. May it bring to you and your family health, happiness, peace, and prosperity. May it see your hopes fulfilled and may it be rich in the successful accomplishment of your highest aims.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

May peace and happiness be yours in the New Year. May fortune smile upon you and favor you with many blessings.

I (We) wish you a Happy New Year, a year big with success and achievement, a year rich with the affection of those who are dear to you, a year mellow with happiness and contentment.

What the coming year may hold we can none of us foresee. It is my (our) earnest wish that for you it may bring forth a generous harvest of happiness and good fortune.

May the coming year and all that succeed it deal lightly and kindly with you.

May the coming year bring you happiness in fullest measure.

We think of you with the affection born of our long friendship which the recurring year only strengthens.

May the New Year bring you health, happiness, and all other good things.

Health, happiness, and contentment, may these be yours in the New Year.

May health, happiness, and prosperity be yours in bountiful measure in the year to come.

May the New Year be a good year to you and yours—full of health and happiness.

May each of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the New Year be a happy one for you.

The happiest of New Years to you and yours.

May the New Year find you in the enjoyment of health and happiness.

Easter greetings

Our thoughts turn to you with affection and best wishes at this Easter season with the hope that peace, prosperity, and plenty may attend your life to-day and through all your days to come.

Easter Greeting from a friend who thinks of you with constant affection.

This Easter Greeting carries to you the affection of an old friend.

May this Easter Day find you in the enjoyment of health and happiness.

Best wishes for a happy Easter.

Best wishes for a happy Easter Day. May your future ever be as bright as the Springtime.

Just a message to a friend, to convey to you my wish that this Easter may bring you happiness and good fortune.

May Easter gladness fill your heart to-day and may all good attend you.

I (We) Wish you joy and happiness at this Eastertide.

May happiness and health be yours on this Easter Day and in the days to come.

We all join in best wishes for a happy Easter Day to you and your family.

Easter Greetings to you and yours.

May your Easter be a bright and happy one.

We all wish you and yours a happy Easter.

Love and best wishes for a happy Easter.

My (Our) Easter Greetings go to you. May the day be a joyful one for you.

Thanksgiving Day greetings

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving Day.

Good cheer and plenty, the love of your dear ones, the affection of your friends, may all these contribute to a happy Thanksgiving Day.

May your Thanksgiving Day be a day of happiness and contentment.

May your Thanksgiving Day be full of happiness and all good cheer.

That I am (we are) not at home to-day to join in the festivities is a great sorrow to me (us). Love to all the dear family.

I never forget the joy of this day at home. Love from one far away.

Although I (we) cannot be with you to-day I (we) have the memory of past Thanksgiving Days at home. God bless you all.

Think of me (us) as being with you in spirit. My (Our) love to you all.

Let us never fail to be thankful that the years only increase the strength of our long friendship.

It is with great thanksgiving that I (we) think of my (our) dear ones at home.

My (Our) one wish this Thanksgiving Day is that I (we) might be with you. Affectionate wishes for your happiness.

Though I (we) cannot be with you at the Thanksgiving Day board, my (our) thoughts are with you to-day.

Around the family table think of me (us) as I (we) absent, shall think of you. My (Our) love to all.

I (We) can picture you all at home. How I (we) long to be with you. My (Our) love to all the family.

Christmas greetings

Every good wish for a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. I need not tell you with what affection we are thinking of you and yours at this Christmas season. God bless you all.

Every good wish for a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

My (Our) very best wishes for a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

May your Christmas be a very happy one.

Merry Christmas to you and all the family.

We all join in wishing you a Merry Christmas.

All affection and good wishes for a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

That your Christmas be a very happy one is the wish of your sincere friend.

May Christmas bring you joy and happiness.

You are constantly in my (our) thoughts which carry to you to-day all affectionate wishes for a Happy Christmas.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Love and a Merry Christmas to you all.

May your Christmas be a merry one and the New Year full of happiness.

Affectionate greetings for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May this Christmas find you well and happy. Love and best wishes to you and yours.

May Christmas bring you naught but joy and banish all care and sorrow.

—— joins me in very best wishes for a Merry Christmas.

A Merry Christmas to all the dear ones at home.

It is my (our) dearest wish that I (we) might be with you at this season of happiness and good-will—Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Birthday greetings

Many happy returns of the day. My (Our) affectionate thoughts and every good wish go to you on this your birthday.

May each succeeding year bring to you the best satisfaction which life holds.

Many happy returns of the day.

Best wishes for a happy birthday.

Best wishes for your birthday. May all your ways be pleasant ways and all your days be happy days.

Birthday greetings. I (We) wish you a long life and everything that makes a long life worth living.

Best wishes for your birthday. May you live long and prosper.

My (Our) thoughts are with you on your birthday. May all your days be happy days.

I (We) wish you many happy years blessed with health, success, and friendship and filled with all the best that life can hold.

We all join in best wishes for a very happy birthday and many years of health and prosperity.

We all join in best wishes for a very happy birthday.

May your birthday mark the dawn of a year of health, happiness, and good fortune.

Wedding messages

Sincerest congratulations to the bride and groom from an old friend who wishes you both years of health, happiness, and prosperity. May the future hold only the best for you that this world can give.

Heartiest congratulations. I (We) wish you many years of happiness.

Mrs. —— and I join in heartiest congratulations.

Hearty congratulations. May your years be many and happy ones.

My (Our) sincerest and best wishes for your happiness.

We all join in hearty congratulations and best wishes.

May happiness, health, and prosperity be with you through the years to come.

May all good fortune attend you, may your sky ever be bright, may no clouds of sorrow or trouble shadow it, and may your path be long and filled with joy.

Every happiness be yours dear —— on this your Wedding Day.

Let an old family friend send his (her) love and congratulations to the bride and groom.

May all good fairies watch over you. May they keep far from you all care and sorrow and brighten your path with sunshine and happiness.