#archivespenpals

To get a letter, send a letter. 

"Why don't you ans my letter. I am not going to write to you any more if you don't ans them....I have a secret to tell you." 

When Grace McClurg sent this postcard to her sister, Ruth, circa 1912, she was a newly arrived missionary in China. She ultimately served at the Hinghwa Mission Province from 1912-1926. 

Designer to Designer

The first Friday of every month the National Archives throws an #ArchivesHashtagParty. This month the theme is #ArchivesPenPals.

The archives has many examples of the Massimo and Lella Vignellis’ correspondence with other designers. Here is a short note from designer and illustrator Milton Glaser who invited Massimo to talk to his class. 

“Dear Massimo,

Thanks for coming to class. The students were thrilled as was I. Let’s continue the argument.″

Although we don’t have any other details about what transpired, we are very intrigued about what the argument was.

See other examples of correspondence from the archives:   https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/correspondence

#ArchivesPenPals

Archivist Jennifer shares a 1937 portrait of her grandmother and a postcard between her grandmother, Virginia "Jinny" Jones and William Jones (AKA "Billy De Wolfe"), Jinny's half-brother. Billy was 14 years older than Jinny and had grown up in Massachusetts, while she was born and raised in Ohio. The two siblings only met a few times during their lives, but seemed to periodically keep in touch via mail. Billy "left for the stage" when Jinny and her younger sister were still small. 

This month’s Archives Hashtag Party celebrates #ArchivesPenPals.

The President receives letters from and sends letters to wide variety of people, from ordinary citizens to other heads of state. Today we’re featuring the Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders. This collection contains a mix of routine and substantive letters and telegrams exchanged between President Ford and leaders of sixty-four countries. These materials provide insights into some of the major international issues of the 1970s, as well as a glimpse into President Ford’s relationships with other world leaders.

Learn more about the Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders and explore the digitized documents here.

#ArchivesPenPals

#ArchivesPenPals

Archives Technician Kim is sharing this letter from her great-great-great-grandmother, Ann Sully. She was born in England in 1814 and wrote this letter to her daughter-in-law Fidelia shortly after Ann’s husband James had passed away in 1877.  

#ArchivesPenPals

Archives Technician Kim is sharing a postcard from her grandfather, Gordon Gorman, who was born in 1889 in Knoxville, TN. In 1908, he was a young man out to see the world, so he sent a picture postcard back to his favorite sister, Louise.