Letters

The exterior of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London. The controversial columns stood inside the ground-floor foyer.

Workers Find Mysterious Letter Hidden Inside a Concrete Column at London's National Gallery

John Sainsbury hoped the note would be found when the "unnecessary columns" were finally demolished

The front of the postcard features a print of The Challenge (1844) by English artist Edwin Henry Landseer.

See a Mysterious Postcard That Was Delivered 121 Years Late

The handwritten note, which bears a 1903 postmark, recently arrived at a building society in Wales

The correspondence is undated, but experts think Kafka wrote it in the spring of 1920.

An Ailing Franz Kafka Curses Writer's Block in This Handwritten Letter to a Friend

"I haven't written anything for three years," he admitted in the note, which will go to auction this summer

Archaeologists have been studying the pet cemetery since it was first discovered in 2011.

Letters Written by Ancient Roman Commanders Have Been Found in a Pet Cemetery in Egypt

Discovered among the graves of hundreds of cats, dogs and monkeys, the correspondence was likely written by centurions in the first century

Haring created this whimsical mural, A Book Full of Fun, nine months before his death.

Keith Haring Painted This Mural on the Wall of an Iowa Elementary School Library

Ahead of planned construction, experts removed the 4,000-pound wall behind the 1989 artwork, which is now on public display for the first time

Alvin Gauthier drove more than 300 miles to personally deliver lost letters from a World War II veteran.

Mail Carrier Drives for Five Hours to Hand Deliver Lost World War II-Era Letters

When Alvin Gauthier found several letters written by a veteran in the 1940s, he went on a mission to return them

Dozens of 300-year-old letters that Ben Browne wrote to his father are now on display in England.

This Is What Being in Your Twenties Was Like in 18th-Century London

A newly restored collection of letters describes a 27-year-old's office job, social life and financial concerns beginning in 1719

An illuminated manuscript illustration of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet

How Medieval Women Expressed Their 'Forbidden' Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives

Princess Dashkova (center) exchanged letters with Benjamin Franklin and befriended Catherine the Great.

This Russian Noblewoman, Beloved by Catherine the Great and Benjamin Franklin, Embodied the Age of Enlightenment

Princess Dashkova led research institutes, wrote plays and music, and embarked on a Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, a fictionalized version of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in FX's "Shogun"

The Real History Behind FX's 'Shogun'

A new adaptation offers a fresh take on James Clavell's 1975 novel, which fictionalizes the stories of English sailor William Adams, shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and Japanese noblewoman Hosokawa Gracia

Georgina Hogarth lived with Charles Dickens for nearly three decades.

Who Was Georgina Hogarth, Charles Dickens' 'Best and Truest Friend'?

Unpublished letters reveal new insights into the baffling relationship between the English novelist and his sister-in-law

A white Baptist woman named Harriet M. Buss taught Civil War hero Robert Smalls (pictured) how to read and write.

What a Teacher's Letters Reveal About Robert Smalls, Who Stole a Confederate Ship to Secure His Freedom From Slavery

Harriet M. Buss' missives home detail the future congressman's candid views on race and the complicity of Confederate women

The envelope was sent twice: once on May 2, 1840, and again on May 4, 1840.

First Known Piece of Mail Sent Using a Stamp Goes to Auction

The 183-year-old envelope is a rare example of two early forms of prepaid postage: Mulready envelopes and adhesive stamps

A pneumatic mail tube at the main Post Office Department branch in New York City, circa 1914 or 1915

When a Labyrinth of Pneumatic Tubes Shuttled Mail Beneath the Streets of New York City

Powered by compressed air, the system transported millions of letters between 1897 and 1953

The cabin features traditional Lapland decorations.

You Can Spend the Night in Santa Claus' Cabin—and Help Sort His Mail

Airbnb is offering one family a chance to spend three festive nights in Rovaniemi, Finland

The letters remained unopened in storage for more than two centuries before Renaud Morieux read them.

Sealed French Love Letters Read for the First Time in 265 Years

Written during the Seven Years' War, the letters offer rare insights into the lives of everyday people during wartime

An original copy of a 15th-century Christopher Columbus letter translated from Spanish into Latin

Christopher Columbus Letter Describing Journey to the Americas Sells for $3.9 Million

Copies of the letter have long been the target of thefts and forgeries, but Christie's says this one is the real deal

In addition to serving the needs of residents, the Sanquhar Post Office has become a popular tourist attraction.

The World's Oldest Post Office Gets New Owners

A Florida husband-and-wife duo is taking over the 311-year-old site in southern Scotland

Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Mary Welsh, on a trip to Kenya in 1952

Ernest Hemingway and His Wife Survived Two Plane Crashes Just One Day Apart

The novelist recounted the harrowing ordeal in a letter, which just sold for $237,055 at auction

It was Rebel’s fate, like many caught up in the war, to experience captivity and displacement.

The Dog Who Served on Both Sides of the American Revolution

A newly discovered letter suggests a Newfoundland named Rebel accompanied both Continental and British officers into battle

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