19th Century ChatGPT? A Book of Sample Letters for Common Business and Social Situations

Well… common situations almost 200 years ago.

Sparked by a discussion around AI and condolence letters.

Most etiquette books also provided sample letters (letter templates). 20th century journalist Judith Martin built her subsequent career as “Miss Manners” in part through providing social scripts, including letter templates.

Also, long descriptive titles with lots of keywords were apparently a thing, well before SEO.

Title: The Fashionable American letter writer, or, The art of polite correspondence: containing a variety of plain and elegant letters on business, love, courtship, marriage, relationship, friendship, &c.: with forms of complimentary cards: to the whole are prefixed directions for letter writing, and rules for composition.

Published 1833. Public domain. You can read it via Google books.

Title page of 'The Fashionable American Letter Writer

end of contents section listing letters dealing with business, employment, next to beginning of contents section listing letters dealing with love, courtship, and marriage

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Reference

G. & C. Merriam (1833) The Fashionable American letter writer, or, The art of polite correspondence: containing a variety of plain and elegant letters on business, love, courtship, marriage, relationship, friendship, &c.: with forms of complimentary cards: to the whole are prefixed directions for letter writing, and rules for composition. Springfield: G. and C. Merriam (Letter writer). Available at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009719043 (Accessed: 20 March 2023).

Google Books link for: The Fashionable American Letter Writer, Or, The Art of Polite Correspondence: Containing a Variety of Plain and Elegant Letters on Business, Love, Courtship, Marriage, Relationship, Friendship, &c : with Forms of Complimentary Cards : to the Whole is Prefixed Directions for Letter Writing, and Rules for Composition (1834). Benjamin Olds. Available at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fashionable_American_Letter_Writer_O/H5UVAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Accessed: 24 March 2023).