THE COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
I. Business. — 1. The accepted forms of complimentary closes of business letters are Yours truly, and Yours very truly. The forms Respectfully yours, Your obedient servant, and Faithfully yours are now regarded as too obsequious.
2. The complimentary close should begin in the middle of a line by itself, below the concluding words of the text.
3. The first word alone should be capitalized.
4. A comma should be placed at end of the line.
5. Do not abbreviate any of the words in the complimentary close. Avoid such contractions as Y’rs for Yours.
6. Expressions used to introduce the complimentary close, such as With kind regards, I am, Believe me, Good-bye, etc., should be treated as part of the concluding line of the text only when closely related to the final sentence; otherwise they occupy a separate line.
II. Informal. — 1. The nature of the complimentary close of informal or friendly {122} letters depends upon the degree of intimacy which exists between the correspondents. The usual forms are, Yours sincerely, or Yours very truly, but they may properly be used as expressions of affection, as Your devoted husband, or Your loving daughter.
III. Formal. — 1. There is no complimentary close to formal notes written in the third person.
2. The complimentary closes to formal letters addressed to persons in high positions are as follows: to the President of the United States, I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient servant; to King George, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your Majesty’s most obedient servant. This form is modified as the rank of the person addressed becomes less important. To a congressman, for instance, one would say no more than, I have the honor to be.