Letter books

Letter books are normally bound volumes containing copies of letters sent by a person or corporate body. Sometimes the letters were copied by hand and sometimes each original letter was pressed against flimsy copy paper while the ink was still wet – these are referred to as wet-copy letter books. Less common are bound volumes of letters received by an individual or corporate body.

Letter books have great limitations. Often the researcher sees only one side of the correspondence (e.g. letters sent but not letters received). The handwriting can be very difficult to read, especially in wet copy letter books. If there is no index or contents list it can be very difficult to find information about a subject quickly. Letters relating to important matters are bound among letters relating to trivial matters. In general, therefore, letter books are seldom used by any but the most dedicated researcher, usually those researching the administrative history of the corporate body or the life of the individual who kept the letter book.