Next Letter Writing Club - at Toronto's First Post Office

Toronto's First Post Office hosts the "Post-A-Letter Social Activity Club" the third Sunday of each month.

Join in on Sunday, April 15, in the Post Office's cozy Reading Room, anytime between 1-4pm and write some letters in good company.

Snacks, coffee, tea, and all the supplies you need to write and mail something special will be available.

And all are welcome, so please share this post and bring your friends!

- Town of York Historical Society, 260 Adelaide St. E., Toronto  (416.865.1833)

Letters of Note

Recently I stumbled upon Letters of Note, a compendium of fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Author Shaun Usher writes,

"Letters of Note is a blog-based archive of fascinating correspondence, complete with scans and transcripts of the original missives.

...your input is always welcome. Get in touch via shaun@lettersofnote.com. If you wish to send images, please forward high quality versions where possible, don't attempt to compress them to the point of illegibility and don't crop them to death. If you happen to have an original you wish to post to me using regular mail, let me know via email."

Here you'll find a recent gooder: a hand-written note from a young man's hero. Restores your faith in the world a bit, doesn't it? We are all just people.

Happy reading.

The First Letter Writing Club

Since we moved to Toronto last spring, I have been wanting to replicate Vancouver's Regional Assembly of Text's letter writing gathering in our new city. This month, the time finally came!

Last weekend eight of us met at The Good Neighbour Espresso Bar to write letters to our loved ones. I commandeered a high table and we spilled paper and postcards, pulled out pens, tried out calligraphy, tip-tapped on the typewriter and even shared Nancy Drew stationery (thank you, Mary!) 

In April we'll meet again on the third Saturday of the month. 3-6pm. Everyone welcome. No cost. Supplies provided. 

Mail Bag! A letter from Toronto's First Post Office... sealed with wax, no less

Following my month of letters, I traveled to British Columbia to visit family for 5 weeks. Upon my return, a few days ago, I happened upon a handful of letters in our mailbox. Including this gem, sealed with wax:

"Toronto, 13 February 2012

Dear Ms. Crook,

I listened with interest to your interview on "Spark"and last night...

I thought I should invite you to Toronto's First Post Office this coming Sunday afternoon when the "Post-a-letter Social-activity-club" (Pal-Sac) will be meeting here for their first regularly scheduled third-Sunday of the month sessions. You can find more about this on-line or -- take a chance and turn up!

This is the form that most of the letters in our museum collection take. The font is from the handwriting of Emily Austin, a woman who lived in Texas in the 1830s. It even comes with a couple of ink blots. [blot] It does fail to fade where the quill would have run out...

I am

dear Madam

Your obedient servant

Janet Walters, Postmistress

Postmistress! What a stupendous title.



I can not wait to visit The Town of York Historical Society to peruse their collection of letters (some of which I will share here with you) and to participate in next month's letter writing gathering (this month I am hosting my own... tomorrow: at the Good Neighbour Espresso Bar, 4-6pm.)