Or, if there should be a firm name, the address would be as follows:
Messrs. Williams & Hill, 307 Wall Street, New York.
Dear Sirs: (or, Sirs:) (or, Gentlemen:)
Again, if wished, the salutation might be omitted and the address made to serve as title. Another form is this:
Mr. William H. Hill, 307 Wall Street, New York. Mr. Hill:
The following form, though causing an unpleasant repetition of the name, is often adopted in business letters to unmarried ladies, probably to escape the problem that the choice of Miss or Madam offers to so many:
305 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass., February 10, 189—.
Miss Mary Wright, Cherry Valley, Ill. Miss Wright:
Or, omitting the name, the simple address may be used. However, there need not be the slightest difficulty in addressing an unmarried lady, even should she be in her teens, as “Madam,” or “Dear Madam,” it being a general term as applicable to women without regard to age or condition, as “Sir” is to their brethren. This will be easily seen when it is recollected that it is a derivation from ma dame, my lady, and since our language is deficient in any equivalent term to the pretty French Mademoiselle, or the German, Fraülein, and, as “Dear Miss” is obsolete, we must be content to utilize “Madam” on all necessary occasions. There is another form much used where the address is omitted:
305 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, July 10, 189—.
Miss Halsted. Dear Madam:
Or, if on friendly footing, simply: Dear Miss Halstead:
If two young ladies are to be addressed, the term “Misses” should be used, as: