My dear Brent,
The bearer, William Jones, is a young acquaintance of mine who is going to live in Cleveland. If there is anything you can do without too much trouble to yourself in recommending a place to board, or assisting him to a situation, I shall be grateful. He has good habits, and if he gets a foothold I am sure he will make good.
Yours sincerely,
Robert T. Hill.
Another letter, already immortal as a literary gem, is Benjamin Franklin's "Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a Person You Are Unacquainted With":
Sir,
The bearer of this, who is going to America, presses me to give him a letter of recommendation, though I know nothing of him, not even his name. This may seem extraordinary, but I assure you it is not uncommon here. Sometimes, indeed, one unknown person brings another equally unknown, to recommend him; and sometimes they recommend one another! As to this gentleman, I must refer you to himself for his character and merits, with which he is certainly better acquainted than I can possibly be. I recommend him, however, to those civilities, which every stranger, of whom one knows no harm, has a right to; and I request you will do him all the good offices, and show him all the favor, that, on further acquaintance, you shall find him to deserve. I have the honor to be, etc.
Letter of Thanks
For a wedding gift
The letter of thanks for a wedding gift must be sent as soon as possible after the receipt of the gift. The bride herself must write it. When the wedding is hurried or when gifts arrive at the last moment, the bride is not required to acknowledge them until after the honeymoon. In all cases the gift is acknowledged both for herself and her husband-elect or husband.