Unhappy Franksgiving
A mild panic swept over the U.S. in 1939, following a brave decision by President Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving forward from the final Thursday of November to its penultimate Thursday, in an effort to lengthen and boost Christmas spending after the holiday during what were the last groans of the Great Depression. In the days and weeks following his announcement, the White House saw an influx of incoming correspondence from all manner of sources, filled to the brim with heated opinion and

Langlois Bridge
A letter written by Vincent van Gogh to Émile Bernard on March 18th, 1888, a month after leaving Paris for Arles. He begins the letter with a sketch of sailors and their 'sweethearts' strolling riverside towards a drawbridge, and goes on to mention his current preoccupation with the scene. In fact, the Langlois Bridge later made appearances in a number of his paintings (1,2,3,

You are Elvis Presley. I am Andy Kaufman.
On February 27th, 1969, 20 year-old Andy Kaufman wrote a letter to his idol - Elvis Presley - in which he spoke of his admiration for the King of Rock 'n' Roll and his desire to meet him in person. It would be another 3 years until Kaufman's now famous Elvis act was first televised; a performance which Elvis himself would later claim to be his favourite Elvis impersonation. Thanks to Jude for the tip. Unfortunately the letter, to my knowledge, is unavailable in its entirety online. Should anyone be able to fill in the missing portion of what is still a fascinating r

Daddy, my Poppy hasn't grown yet
On May 11th, 1964, the following heartwarming letter was written by war veteran David Bailey in relation to a missing Returned from Active Service badge. I'll offer no more details so as not to spoil the story. Thanks to Linda for the tip.  Source Transcript 16 Lambeth Street, PANANIA. 11th May, 1964 The

Dear Mayor of New York City
It's no wonder that in a city as large and populous as New York, a steady stream of letters are written to the Mayor throughout the year by its citizens, the majority having been penned for different reasons. Below are just four such letters that I have plucked - with permission - from a truly fascinating book by the name of New York City Museum of Complaint, in which 132 complaint letters written between t