Reading letters can be a powerful experience, enabling us to see into the daily lives of people often long dead. They are a common type of primary source, giving contemporary descriptions of personal and public events.
Letters may also show the language, preconceptions, and prejudices of an individual in a particular place or time. The handwriting and writing materials used can give us clues about the age of the letter, the class of the writer, their nationality and even their occupation.
Letters can be intimate or business-like; they can be revelatory or designed to conceal. People across many sections of society have written letters through history. Letters may tell the stories of people whose voices were rarely heard, from the working-classes, to women and minority cultures. The very personal nature of letters means that access to them may sometimes be restricted. Letters may be embargoed for the lifetime of the writer, their family or associates. Skip to main content University links.
Close quicklinks. Object types in Special Collections Introducing the different types of objects researchers in Special Collections can encounter. Books Object types in Special Collections: photographs. Diaries Object types in Special Collections: Diaries. Letters Object types in Special Collections: Letters. Maps Object types in Special Collections: Maps. Photographs Object types in Special Collections: photographs.
Newspapers Object types in Special Collections: newspapers. Registers Object types in Special Collections: Registers. Creative Drafts Object types in Special Collections: creative drafts. Scrap books Object types in Special Collections: Scrapbooks. Ephemera Object types in Special Collections: Ephemera. Minute books minute books. Visual material Object types in Special Collections: Art work. Image credit Leeds University Library. Previous Diaries Next Maps.
