LETTERS
THE MOST TROUBLESOME detail in letter-writing is the matter of address. It should be noted that there is a distinction between Dear and My dear. In our country, the more formal style is with the pronoun, while the pronoun is omitted in writing to friends. A letter to a mere acquaintance begins with the words, My dear ............................. But the form for an intimate is simply Dear .............................
The usual address for business purposes and to those with whom no social relations are established is Dear Sir. The plural is used in addressing firms, Dear Sirs, or the one word Gentlemen, may be employed.
In addressing a man with whom social relations are established, the surname is used, preceded by Dear or My dear, according to the degree of intimacy. My dear Mr. Hudson; Dear Mr. Grant.
A woman who is a stranger may be addressed either as Madam or Dear Madam, whether she be married or unmarried. The form “Dear Miss” is to be avoided under all circumstances.
For the woman with whom the writer is formally acquainted, the address is: My dear Mrs. .............................., if she is married, and My dear Miss ............................, if she is unmarried. When the person is a friend, she should be addressed: Dear Mrs. ................, if she is a married woman, and Dear Miss ............................, if she is unmarried.
The full name should be signed to formal letters. The married woman should use her own Christian name, not her husband’s with the Mrs. prefixed. But, in business communications to strangers, she may very properly give her husband’s name with the prefix Mrs., below her usual signature, and inclosed in parenthesis.
Similarly, for the sake of clearness, a business letter by an unmarried woman may have Miss in parenthesis before the name.