Pens and Papercraft: The Art of Victorian Letter-Writing

SHANNEN-LOUISE JONES on how to sign, seal and deliver your own Victorian-style letter

When was the last time you wrote or received a letter… on paper... using Royal Mail?

You might get the occasional bill in the post, or a menu from some takeaway you’ll never order, but friendly, hand-written letters seem very old-fashioned. The Victorians (1800s) had no choice but to rely on pen and paper to send messages beyond walking distance, and in doing so turned letter-writing into an art form, encouraged by the launch of a unified postal system (using stamps) in the 1840s.

I doubt if today’s Tik-Tok influencers are sending letters with wax seals to their friends in the same way. But Gen Z are all about rehashing past aesthetics - from Y2K to vintage 90s tees. 

And so, Dearest Reader….

Why not step back to the 19^th Century and learn how to impress your friends with a flourish of ink on paper and an elevated tone?

If thou art ready to send a message more formally than using SMS, don’t worry. Despite their tendency to write one very long sentence when several would be clearer, and favouring the Latinate over the Anglo-Saxon, their vocabulary was not that different from today. So no need to fret about your ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s, because ‘you’ is perfectly alright.

Sharpen your quill and uncap your pens, because whether you’re channelling your inner Sherlock Holmes, or hosting dinner, Victorian letters are the vibe.

Pay Per Picture

The Victorian people could not decide which paper they liked the most, according to Campbell's Etiquette of Good Society (1893, p.55). Forever changing the "size and shape [of] letter-paper", styles changed quicker than the speed of the penny post. Luckily there was one thing that they agreed on - the paper should be nice and thick. In the 19th century rag paper was often used, with factories mixing cotton, wood and silk to a pulp. In 2025, hot press watercolour paper is a much more common alternative.

Looking to show off a finer taste? The richer houses paid for decorated headings. Personalised to each household, their illustrated paper revealed how much money they had to waste (Barton & Hall, 2002, p. 98).

So, if you have a pet, flower garden or doorbell that you want to flaunt to your reader, make sure to include their likeness at the top of your page.

Stamps were all the rage back then. Local engravers willingly printed images on your writing paper. Now we have Etsy. Hop onto the internet for a cool looking stamp or doodle your own images for an elegant letter.

Inking time

Did you know Victorians had pens too? Yes! ‘Quill pens and steel pens existed alongside each other’ (Barton & Hall, p. 93). They battled it out until pens became the much cheaper alternative (less messy too). So don’t worry about buying an ink and quill. If you crave the mess, ink pens can still explode.

The main thing you’re looking for is a nice smooth finish. Fountain pens are good to get that nice old-fashioned feel, but you’re going to need some practice. Make sure to hold it at a 45-degree angle to keep that ink coming. And don’t go too hard with the pressure (a lot of pressing can damage the nib). If you’re looking for an easier way to

form that letter, a black fine liner can create that sleek look every time— without the extra hassle.

Writing Right

The Victorian elite were so obsessed with rules and etiquette that they wrote manuals on letter writing. In 1840, the new penny post made posting letters cheap. Letter writing manuals came about to make sure that the rich were still the best at it.

Lady Campbell was an aristocratic journalist who sure liked politeness. She wrote that the most important parts of letter writing are the "perfect ease of manner and the absence of fussiness". Please, if you’re going to insult the reader, write “thank you” before the full stop.

Cross-writing

More paper meant more money to send. To save space, the poorer Victorians used to cross-write. Now this looked a bit messy, but it was an acceptable way to ‘save money before the penny post’ (Gibbs, 2024). First, write your message as normal.

When you run out of paper turn it horizontal once and write out the rest. This gives a grid-like look that’s authentic to the time. Don’t worry if no one can read it. That’s their skill issue, not yours.

Cross-written letter

Learn the lingo!

Victorian lingo isn’t exactly what we write today. Consider my translation of a Sherlock Holmes letter:

"There’s blood in the room, but he’s not wounded." (My modern version)

"There are marks of blood in the room, but there is no wound upon his person."

(Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ease up on the contraction apostrophes. Write like it's (or "it is") an essay. Remember, Victorians are all about formality.

The Curse of Cursive

For anyone who hasn’t joined up their writing since primary school, you might want to look away now! The Victorians almost exclusively wrote in a slanted, cursive style. Linking every letter together meant less likelihood of ink splatter on the page. British calligrapher Alfred Fairbank (A Handwriting Manual), realised that keeping ink to paper ensures writers stay in a place of "writing-consciousness" (1978, p. 25). Perhaps writer’s block is our curse for forgetting cursive?

Pitman shorthand

Shorthand language was very popular in the 19th century, such as that developed by Sir Isaac Pitman in 1837. It resembles the outline of a word’s sound with dashes and flicks rather than an actual spelling. This makes writing fast! But beware. If you expect your letter to be read, an accompanying dictionary is recommended.

Seals vs. Envelopes

A lot of wax-selling companies would like you to think there’s a secret seal language. Unfortunately, they almost never share credible sources. How do they know that blue seals stood for love?

The reality is that there isn’t a secret colour language. Colours were limited with red seals setting the standard for every letter.

The UK Parliament has an archive of letters from the Victorian era. The few green ones are about class changes and the blue are from the Royal Family. It’s cool if you want to melt your favourite colour, but those looking for accuracy—stick to red.

By 1877 there were ‘self-gumming envelope machines’ (Benjamin, 1978, p. 70). If you’re someone who’d rather stop by the post office than risk an open flame, a usual envelope will do. Your letter may look less like a period piece, but you’ll know it’s historically correct.

Signing Off

Signing your masterpiece should look very familiar as it's the same practice we use in modern emails. 

In case you’ve forgotten, ‘yours sincerely’ is used when you know the reader’s name and ‘yours faithfully’ is for cases when you do not.

Congratulations! You can now write a basic Victorian letter.

Good luck folding the paper straight and may the ink not smudge.

Yours faithfully,

Shannen-Louise Jones

Written by SHANNEN-LOUISE JONES (English Literature with Drama student, University of Chester, UK)