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Letters from each decade from the 1840s to the 1910s illustrate changes in paper and writing practices. Click on a page image to read a sample letter.

C.J. Gottlieb Klug to Carl Christian Dobberpuhl, April 29, 1846

Letter from C.J. Gottlieb Klug to Carl Christian Dobberpuhl, April 29, 1846.

Marie Hansen Taylor to Lina Hansen, October 1, 1859

Letter from Marie Hansen Taylor to her mother, Lina Hansen, October 1, 1859.

Hermann Raster to Sophie Raster, April 13, 1865

Letter from Hermann Raster to his sister, Sophie Raster, April 13, 1865.

Gustave Grupe to Amalie Grupe, September 16, 1898

Letter from Gustave Grupe to Amalie Grupe, September 16, 1898.

Catharina Heck to Eugen Klee, February 10, 1901

Letter from Catharina Heck to Eugen Klee, February 10, 1901.

Postcard to Lina Höllmüller, November 25, 1912

This postcard was sent to Caroline ("Lina") Höllmüller from one of her siblings in Germany in 1912. She was born in 1881 near Neureichenau, in a picturesque area of eastern Bavaria, where family operated a resort for travelers. In 1902, she immigrated to the United States, initially living in Kansas City, Missouri, and working as a nanny there. By fall 1911, she was living in Chicago, where she received this postcard. She later married Joseph A. Rauch, in 1913, and lived in Chicago for the remainder of her life.