In September of 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald responds to a fan of his latest book, The Great Gatsby. Until H. L. Mencken reviewed it critics were largely unimpressed — as a result it barely sold. Since then it has sold millions of copies  and is considered a classic.

  Dear Miss Lane Pride (What a wonderful name!)

Thank you for your most kind and cordial letter — I think that my first books must have antagonized a lot of people because I know that so many approached this with suspicion and hostility; for the first months there were hardly any sales at all, and until Mencken spoke for it the reviews were angry and childish. Now of course it has become a best seller. Let me tell you how much I appreciate your writing to me — and how much I hope that future books won’t send you scurrying back to your original opinion. Faithfully yours (Signed)

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Thirty-six prominent American writers including Eugene O’Neill, Dorothy Parker, and John Steinbeck, sent this telegram to President Franklin Roosevelt in November 1938, less than a week after Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” during which synagogues, homes, and Jewish-owned businesses across Germany were plundered and destroyed by the Nazis. They expressed outrage and asked the president to sever trade relations and declare an embargo on all “Nazi German goods.” Their telegram was just one of hundreds of telegrams and letters sent to U.S. government officials at the time expressing similar feelings of anger and dismay.

via DocsTeach

an endless list of awesome books —» Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Found a letter to a boy studying in Australia from a girl in Idaho from 1991 (a month before I was even born) in an old book I bought at The Strand.

Dear Halston…  See more of the Diana Vreeland Memos on 5th/58th

forgotten letters between people who are no longer alive by senseofdoubt on Flickr.

Morning! Wake up to a sweet little Harry’s letter to his mum. 😍 #onedirection #harrystyles #niallhoran #liampayne #zaynmalik #louistomlinson #yay #omg #wow #yes #this #angels #lads #feels #hot #fit #sexy #love #perfection #1D #teenposts #igaddict #jesus #life #ovaries #dead #letter #young #mum #sweet

The back of a photograph taken by LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis. See more photos here.

(Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

deadxstop:Sid Vicious’s suicide note.

Alex Turner’s love letter to Alexa Chung  (via fawun)

Letter Of Note of the Day: Pete Docter joined Pixar 22 years ago, and since then he’s had a major hand in hits including Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Up.

Middle school teacher Martin Kelsey wrote to Docter in 2009, asking for some advice to pass on to his students.

Docter’s reply was all encouragement:

[lettersofnote]

Rejection Letter of the Day: When word reached Hillary Clinton that actor Jason Segal wanted to work with her,she penned him this study in classiness.

First the TFHC meme buy-in, and now this? Please, God, don’t let one of her aides be revealed as the letter’s true author.

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Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo (July 1880)