The Dead Letter Office

A letter from Kazakhstan

A letter is a written message from one party to another containing information. Letters promote the preservation of communication between both parties; they may bring friends or relatives closer together. As communication technology has diversified, posted letters have become less important as a routine form of communication. For example, the development of the telegraph drastically shortened the time taken to send a communication, by sending it between distant points as an electrical signal. At the telegraph office closest to the destination, the signal was converted back into writing on paper and delivered to the recipient. The next step was the telex which avoided the need for local delivery. Then followed the fax (facsimile) machine: a letter could be transferred electrically from the sender to the receiver through the telephone network as an image. Today, the internet, by means of email and Apps plays a large part in written communications; however, these communications are not generally referred to as letters but rather as e-mail (or App) messages, messages or simply emails or Apps, with only the term "letter" generally being reserved for communications on paper. LINK The Dead Letter Office