Bradford and Munro,
534 Fifth Avenue,
New York City, N.Y.
Gentlemen: (or Dear Sirs or My dear Sirs)
Mrs. H. K. Weatherly,
Secretary of the Citizens' League,
Smithville, Arkansas.
Dear Mrs. Weatherly: (or Dear Madam or My dear Madam)
Except when it is the first word of the salutation, dear should not begin with a capital letter. The address in the salutation should be repeated exactly on the envelope and particular care should be taken to make it legible. The stamp should always be placed in the upper right-hand corner. It is bad form to put it on obliquely or upside down or to place it in the left-hand corner or on the back flap of the envelope. It is a silly practice to do so and causes the postal clerks a great deal of trouble.
FUNCTION OF THE SOCIAL LETTER
There are, necessarily, several kinds of letters, the three most important divisions of which are the friendly letter, the business letter, and the social letter. In its strictest sense, the social letter is written for a distinct social purpose—usually about, or in response to, some purely social circumstance. The difference between a friendly letter and a social letter is relatively the same as the difference between a strictly formal and a friendly informal visit.
To write a friendly letter, one simply writes what one feels, heeding no very stringent rules regarding letter-writing. But the social letter-writer finds that there are certain forms that must be carefully observed, if his or her letters are to be considered entirely correct. There are two distinct forms of the social letters—the formal and the informal. The formal social note is used only for invitations, announcements and their respective acknowledgments. It is always written in the third person, and always requires an answer. Even though it is sent to the most intimate friend, the formal note remains formal; although later a friendly letter may be sent to remove any possible constraint or "chill." The informal note has no definite formula, except that it can be generally compared to all the informal trend of correct social usage. The first person is used in the writing of informal notes.
Whether formal or informal, the social note always bears the name of the person to whom it is addressed. To illustrate, when writing socially to Mrs. Joselyn, one does not use the expression, "Dear Madam," but "Dear Mrs. Joslyn." In America the form "my dear" is considered a trifle more formal than just "dear," although in England the reverse is true. "Dear Madam" and "Dear Sir" are forms reserved exclusively for use with business letters.
THE ETIQUETTE OF STATIONERY