Beneath this, a list of officers is printed in a clean, legible typeface, naming Theodore F. Miller as President, Samuel W. Boocock and David H. Lanman as Vice Presidents, Stanley W. Husted as Secretary, and several assistant secretaries including Frank J. W. Diller, Willis McDonald Jr., Horace W. Farrell, and C. O. Brinckerhoff.
This letter, written on the official letterhead of the Philada. & Reading Railway Co., is a piece of internal corporate correspondence from March 1894. The pre-printed form, marked “Form 4—No. 1” at the top left, indicates a standardized system for inter-office reporting, a practice that reveals the bureaucratic structure of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway, a corporation then heavily involved in both anthracite coal transport and passenger service across Pennsylvania.
Penned in cursive, the letter carries the warmth and intimacy characteristic of handwritten communication from a bygone era. The letter closes with “Goodnight Very Much” on the front side, adding to its intimate and heartfelt tone.
The letter is written in a legible cursive script on a single sheet of unlined paper, now aged to a warm, yellowish-beige tone consistent with nearly a century of storage. The envelope shows similar discoloration and bears multiple creases and fold lines from handling, with small tears and rough edges along the top flap where it was opened.
This handwritten letter, dated November 14, 1895, from Springfield, is a two-page personal correspondence written in a fluid cursive script on aged, cream-tinted paper. The content of the letter reveals a network of social obligations and personal favors.
The envelope exhibits significant age-related toning, with a uniform yellowish-brown discoloration across its surface, along with multiple small, irregular brownish-orange foxing spots and stains, particularly in the lower-middle and right-middle sections.
The body of the letter, composed in a conversational and apologetic tone, opens with “Excuse the long delay in writing you, but I’m sure you’ll say the reason sufficient. I thought it was!”. The left margin contains printed vertical text reading “CASTLE” and “LOS ANGELES, USA,” likely identifying the stationery manufacturer or designer, along with a partially obscured horizontal designation that appears to read “EASSBORNE Clayton” and the number “Adams 13055,” suggesting a specific product or design series from this Los Angeles-based printer.
The paper shows two circular punch holes at the top, indicating it was filed in a binder, and several horizontal crease lines from folding.
The paper exhibits significant signs of age, including discoloration, prominent folds, and fading of both the printed and typewritten text.
You will have to go into the Coast Guard.”. The writer notes that “calisthenics and marching in the heat are the hardest things,” and that the temperature upon arrival had been 135 degrees before cooling slightly.
