What do you do with your old letters?

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May 20th, 2017, 10:08 AM
AzJon

What do you do with your old letters?

Do you keep them? File them away by Penpal last name? Toss them after a while?

I've now got a pile of letters taking up space and I"m not sure what to do with them.

What do you reckon?
May 20th, 2017, 08:18 PM
VertOlive

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Some people actually scan them into a computer file.
Others use various filing systems.

I like to tear out occasional swatches (minus any identifying information) and hide them in books before returning them to the library or selling them. I like to imagine people wondering "What is a VertOlive and why do they seem to be discussing crows and barbecue?"
May 20th, 2017, 11:09 PM
AzJon

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by VertOlive

"What is a VertOlive and why do they seem to be discussing crows and barbecue?"

:rofl:

Are you me?

I need to hide messages in books at the library...
May 21st, 2017, 02:41 AM
Chrissy

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

After a while I feed them to my shredder..... :spy:
May 21st, 2017, 04:24 AM
FredRydr

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

I had been scanning them all and posting them on the internet until the N.S.A. rang me to ask that I use use better resolution images.

Just kidding.

Just remember that much of non-fiction is based on preserved written correspondence. Think of the many volumes on library shelves based upon letters between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, or Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Just what will you keep for posterity? Your letters might be what makes you famous! (Posthumously.)

Fred
May 21st, 2017, 05:26 AM
Chrissy

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredRydr

I had been scanning them all and posting them on the internet until the N.S.A. rang me to ask that I use use better resolution images.

Just kidding.

Just remember that much of non-fiction is based on preserved written correspondence. Think of the many volumes on library shelves based upon letters between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, or Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Just what will you keep for posterity? Your letters might be what makes you famous! (Posthumously.)

Fred

So do you mean my letters that I have sent...or my letters that I have received? :bounce: Do I need to sign my letters properly with my full name, just in case? :pound:
May 21st, 2017, 07:17 AM
TSherbs

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Depends on my relationship to the sender.

I have a wide range of ways of handling letters. I have letters in boxes in more than one place in my house (not hidden), I throw some out, I keep some in a file, I keep some on my desk in chronological order of receipt in order to respond to them in a timely manner, I occasionally cull....etc.

I have only rarely (fewer than five times) kept a copy of my own personal correspondence.
May 22nd, 2017, 08:54 AM
AzJon

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredRydr

Just remember that much of non-fiction is based on preserved written correspondence. Think of the many volumes on library shelves based upon letters between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, or Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Just what will you keep for posterity? Your letters might be what makes you famous! (Posthumously.)
Fred

It's true, though by the time my letters are discovered and cause my historical infamy, they may need a paleographer to read it. Encountered my first Cantcursive mailman on Friday. Had a letter addressed entirely in (very legible) cursive. Poor guy guessed my address by sort of piecing it together. Fortunately I was out front and able to assist.

Quite the surprise, I must say.
May 22nd, 2017, 05:44 PM
Morgaine

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

I know it isn't always possible to keep letters, but I try. If I had to cull them, I would shred the letters from people I no longer write to, first. I am thinking about digitising them.

Don't forget to save the stamps - they can be given to stamp collecting friends, or passed on to various charities (separate thread on here..).
June 11th, 2017, 06:01 PM
VertOlive

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredRydr

I had been scanning them all and posting them on the internet until the N.S.A. rang me to ask that I use use better resolution images.

Just kidding.

Just remember that much of non-fiction is based on preserved written correspondence. Think of the many volumes on library shelves based upon letters between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, or Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Just what will you keep for posterity? Your letters might be what makes you famous! (Posthumously.)

Fred

Then I'll be famous for English Bulldogs and rattlesnakes, I suppose. Or become the center of the next DaVinci Code, chase the VertOlive clues bestseller.
June 13th, 2017, 11:33 PM
Bogon07

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by VertOlive

Then I'll be famous for English Bulldogs and rattlesnakes, I suppose. Or become the center of the next DaVinci Code, chase the VertOlive clues bestseller.

and turkeys
June 14th, 2017, 09:27 AM
penwash

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzJon

Do you keep them? File them away by Penpal last name? Toss them after a while?

I've now got a pile of letters taking up space and I"m not sure what to do with them.

What do you reckon?

You can scan and upload it to Pen Agora as part of "My Collection" feature. Just an idea :)
June 14th, 2017, 05:11 PM
Bisquitlips

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

I keep them all if they are handwritten!

You can actually age them with tea and tie them up with ribbons. They make nice decor items.
June 14th, 2017, 07:04 PM
TSherbs

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bisquitlips

I keep them all if they are handwritten!

You can actually age them with tea and tie them up with ribbons. They make nice decor items.

that's funny to me

I promise all my pen pals that I'm not putting their letters on my walls! :wave:
June 28th, 2017, 09:11 PM
VertOlive

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bogon07

Quote:

Originally Posted by VertOlive

Then I'll be famous for English Bulldogs and rattlesnakes, I suppose. Or become the center of the next DaVinci Code, chase the VertOlive clues bestseller.

and turkeys

No longer, I'm afraid. Here in Texas it's just the rattlesnakes...
June 29th, 2017, 08:30 AM
AzJon

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by penwash

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzJon

Do you keep them? File them away by Penpal last name? Toss them after a while?

I've now got a pile of letters taking up space and I"m not sure what to do with them.

What do you reckon?

You can scan and upload it to Pen Agora as part of "My Collection" feature. Just an idea :)

Ooohhhhh....good idea, Will!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bisquitlips

I keep them all if they are handwritten!

You can actually age them with tea and tie them up with ribbons. They make nice decor items.

I've never tried that with tea. Works well with diluted walnut ink and a spray bottle (like for eye-glass cleaner). Makes the paper look well aged.

Sorry for not replying sooner! Been busy and away from the forum!
June 29th, 2017, 12:59 PM
BayesianPrior

Re: What do you do with your old letters?

I burnt them on the new year's eve following the break-up. I thought it would help to start the new year with a clean slate. It felt good at the time.

But now, many years later, I wish I could read them again.