Burroughs Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 | Page 9

in business correspondence should be of
a good, durable quality, and a white color is preferable. Cheap
materials are not only unsatisfactory to the writer, but may give the
reader an unfavorable impression, which would be an injury far
exceeding the cost of the best stationery for a life time. Persons form
impressions from very little things sometimes.
The size of a letter sheet in business correspondence should be about
8x10 inches. This sheet affords a sufficient space for a communication
of ordinary length to be written on one side only, which is essential in
case the letter is copied in a letter press. A sheet of paper, note size,
(5x8) is oftentimes used for brief communications of no special
importance, and not designed to be filed for future reference. Among
professional men the commercial note sheet is more extensively used,
but with business men the letter size is considered preferable.
The envelope should correspond in size to that of the letter sheet, and
should be a trifle longer than one-half the length of the sheet. Thus in a
sheet eight by ten inches, one-half the length of the sheet is five inches,
and this requires the length of the envelope to be about five and a
quarter inches. Its width is usually about three inches. Avoid the use of
fancy colored and fancy shaped paper and envelopes. These may not be
objectionable in social correspondence among ladies, but the gravity of
business affairs does not admit of such display.
THE HEADING.

With most firms engaged in business it has become a custom to have
the business advertisement placed at the head of the letter page,
together with street, number and city. Thus leaving only the date to be
inserted to complete the heading.
In case the heading of the letter is to be entirely written, it should be
placed so as to occupy the right hand half of the first two lines at the
top of the page. If, however, the letter is to be a very brief one,
occupying only three or four lines, the heading may then be placed
lower down on the sheet, so as to bring the body of the letter about the
center of the sheet.
Writing from a large city the heading should contain the street and
number. Your correspondent, in directing his answer will rely on the
address given in the heading of your letter. Never be guilty of the
blunder committed by ignorant persons of placing a part of the heading
under the signature.
[Illustration:
765 Market Street, Philadelphia, June 10, 1882.]
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE STRUCTURE OF A LETTER.]
The second line of the heading should begin a little farther to the right
than the first line, as seen above.
If the writer has a box at the Post Office and wishes his mail delivered
there, he may head his letter, as on the following page:
[Illustration:
P.O. Box 3657, New York, May 16, 1882.]
[Illustration:
Chas. A Roberts Wm. J. Dennis Office of ROBERT & DENNIS
DEALERS IN FANCY AND STAPLE GROCERIES, 320 Jefferson
Street, Burlington, Va.,_____________ 18__]

Writing from the principal cities of the United States it is not necessary
to make the name of the state a part of the heading, as that is supposed
to be known and understood, but with smaller cities the name of the
state also, should be given. Thus, there is a Quincy in Illinois, and also
in Massachusetts, and unless the state were mentioned a person
answering a letter from Quincy, would not know which state to direct
his reply to. In writing from an obscure town or village, not only the
state should be given, but the county as well.
[Illustration:
Ottawa, La Salle County, Ill., December 20, 1882.]
The punctuation of the heading and other parts of the letter, is of great
importance in the estimation of cultivated persons, and something
which can be learned by a little attention on the part of anyone, in
examining the forms here given.
MARGIN.
A margin three-quarters of an inch in width should be left, on the side
of the letter, as shown in the diagram. This is convenient for any mark
or memorandum which your correspondent may desire to make
concerning anything contained in the letter, but its greater value lies in
the open, airy, and cheerful dress which it imparts to the letter. A
margin too narrow conveys the idea of stinginess, as if to economize
paper, while an irregular or zigzag margin conveys the idea of
carelessness or want of precision. On a sheet of note paper the margin
may be only one-half inch in width, thus making its width proportionate
to the size of the sheet.
ADDRESS.
On the next line below the heading, that is the third line from