“Fly to the Bosom of Your God”: Alexander Hamilton’s Farewell Letters
On the eve of July 11, 1804, Alexander Hamilton prepared to meet Vice President Aaron Burr in a duel that would end his life. Knowing he might not return, Hamilton wrote not one but two farewell letters to his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.
Between Meadows and Mortality: John Keats writes to Fanny Brawne
On August 17, 1819, John Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne from the quiet English town of Winchester. By this time, Keats was immersed in both the beauty of the countryside and the weight of his own fragile health. He was also at work on one of his last major projects, a tragedy titled Otho the Great.
Amid his creative efforts and his walks through the meadows and ruins, Keats turned to Fanny with a letter that reveals a man caught between poetic rhapsody, self-doubt, and overwhelming love.
From Islands to Icons: The Story of the Hawaiian Missionary Stamps
In 1851, the Kingdom of Hawaii issued its very first postage stamps. Today remembered as the Hawaiian Missionaries, they are printed on fragile blue pelure paper. These stamps carried the mail of an island kingdom that, while geographically remote was becoming increasingly connected to the rest of the world.
Diego, My Love: Frida Kahlo’s Tender Letter of Devotion
By 1940, Frida was living through both personal and physical struggles. She had been hospitalized multiple times for the lingering effects of polio and a horrific bus accident in her youth. Yet even through pain, she kept her pen moving: sending notes, sketches, and letters to Diego that reveal the depth of her longing and devotion.
Five Sons, One Letter and a President’s Condolence.
Some letters are meant to share news, others to inspire, and a few… to comfort wounds that can never truly heal. In the fall of 1864, with the American Civil War nearing its bloody conclusion, President Abraham Lincoln sent one such letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow from Massachusetts who was believed to have lost five sons in the conflict.
The Alexandria “Blue Boy”: A Love Letter That Time Refused to Burn
In the world of philately, some stamps are prized for their beauty, others for their rarity, and a precious few for the stories they carry. The Alexandria “Blue Boy” Postmaster’s Provisional is all three: a small, simple piece of blue paper that survived against the odds, carrying with it a tale of love, defiance, and history.
The Basel Dove: Pioneering Postal Elegance
The Basel Dove represents everything we stand for: meaningful communication, beautiful design, and the enduring power of the written word.
A Letter Before Silence: Virginia Woolf’s Parting Words to Leonard.
In a world where we hide pain behind perfect photos and polished status updates, Virginia’s last letter is unflinchingly real. It reminds us that love is not always enough to save someone, but it is always worth giving. It teaches us that saying goodbye can be an act of grace.
Japan’s 10-Year Postbox Where Art, Memory, and Letters Meet
Kubota calls it a “place for lost voices”—a home for letters that were never meant to arrive, or could no longer reach their recipients. Visitors are invited to write to those who have died, disappeared, or drifted away—loved ones, past selves, even future dreams. The letters are stored in the suspended mailboxes, and although some may be read by future visitors, most are never meant to be retrieved. They exist in limbo, like emotional flotsam carried by time.
Tell Them I Was Brave - The Final Letter of Sophie Scholl
On the night before her execution, 21-year-old Sophie Scholl sat alone in a Munich prison cell. She had just been sentenced to death for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at her university. Instead of despair, she wrote a letter. Not to plead. Not to beg. But to say goodbye — with clarity, courage, and grace.
Famous Lettres from history - Martin Luther King Jr’s letter from Birmingham jail
Written on April 16, 1963. In this letter, Dr. King responds to criticisms from a group of clergymen who labeled his activities as "unwise and untimely." He defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and argues that individuals have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws.
Famous Lettres from history - John Steinbeck’s letter to his son
On our first weekly showcase of famous lettres from history, we have John Steinbeck writing to his son—“If it is right, it happens—The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”
The people that gave their lives for a language, and tech saving near-extinct languages
As a handwritten messaging app, we at Lettre feel a deep connection to being able to express yourself in your own language and write in your own script, no matter how many people speak it. This got us thinking about how technology could potentially help propagate these languages, archive and preserve the scripts, and maybe even be used to teach newer generations the dialects, spoken languages and written scripts in the future.
The Inverted Jenny: A Philatelic Legend
The "Inverted Jenny" stamp, celebrated for its depiction of an accidentally upside-down airplane, is one of the world's rarest and most valuable stamps. Originating from a 1918 issue to commemorate the first U.S. Air Mail, its history is as intriguing as its design.
Letters from the Titanic: Voices from the Depths
Recovered treasures from the tragic maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic contains a collection of letters and postcards, poignant echoes of lives interrupted and dreams unfulfilled.
The Penny Black: The World's First Postage Stamp
The Penny Black holds a special place in history as the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. Issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, it revolutionized the postal service and laid the groundwork for modern global communication.