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Business Letters
One of the most common types of letters written during the Victorian Age was the business letter. Personal letters between family members were often written by women. In the Victorian Age, women were considered the emotional center of the household, so any letters expressing sympathies or congratulations or emotional remarks fell under their domain. Letter writing was seen as an activity perfectly suited for women, especially middle class women who had more time on their hands. Letters were one of the key ways women could express their intelligence, good manners, and genial attitude, especially to potential suitors. But unlike personal letters, business letters were mostly sent by men, because they focused on transactional matters, not emotional ones. If a woman was writing a business letter, she probably was among the working class and therefore had to conduct business herself. Similarly, widowed women would have to take over handling their husbands’ affairs. Business letters were very formal and deferential in language and in tone. A standard letter began with a greeting of “sir” or “honoured sir.” The body of the letter contained either very sincere apologies for a problem or very polite requests. It was imperative that the sender didn’t offend the receiver of the letter, because an impolite letter could sever any further correspondence or business relationships. The letters would often be signed with “humble servant” or “faithful friend,” indicating the high esteem in which the sender held the receiver. Every type of business transaction and correspondence was exchanged through letters. Topics ranged from loan payments, to the sale of goods , to employee recommendations. Merchants from the city communicated with merchants in the country; wealthy benefactors corresponded with young men just setting up in business. Letter writing was more common among the middle and upper classes, who had more time and money to spend, but the working class also wrote business letters. Correspondence through letters was more common among the middle and upper classes, simply because they had more time to write. But working class men would also write letters when necessary. Letters between family and friends could run very long, and usually covered a wide range of subjects. Business letters, however, were often very short, only discussing the present business matter and some basic pleasantries. Before the advent of the Penny Post, it was too expensive to send personal letters, so most letters were about business matters. After the Penny Post made letter writing cheap and accessible to everyone, personal letters and love letters became much more popular.