Letters of Note is a blog-based archive of fascinating correspondence, complete with scans and transcripts of the original missives. The Letters of Note archives presents six ways to navigate the ever-growing collection, with a search function and a list of the most popular entries. Probably the most helpful is the listing of correspondence written by, to, or about notable people (listed alphabetically, by first name).
An online interview with the founder, Shaun Usher, can be found at the newsblog True/Slant, in an October, 2009 post by Laura Nathan-Garner, titled ‘Old School Correspondence Gets a Digital Audience’:
Correspondence just ain’t what it used to be.
At least it hasn’t been since September, when freelance writer Shaun Usher launched Letters of Note. The blog, as Usher explains on the homepage, “is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos.”
Among the pieces Usher has posted: a letter sent by an Australian schoolboy “To a top scientist at Woomera’s Rocket Range” in Australia, [and] Elvis Presley’s handwritten note requesting a meeting with President Richard Nixon…
Letters of Note could be an interesting addition to history and/or social studies. Check it out at the link above.
