Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination. So it is for Emil J. Polak as he strides into the Bibliothèque Méjanes here. It is the 728th library -- nearly all of them in Europe -- that ...

Last Saturday, couples around the world celebrated Valentine’s Day by doting on their loved ones. Flowers, chocolates, and fancy dinners are all popular choices for the holiday; however, once the ...

In fiscal year 2024, the Postal Service delivered 112 billion pieces of mail, a loss of 101 billion pieces, or nearly 50 percent, from fiscal year 2006’s peak of 213 billion. Let that sink in. We’re ...

A “Collection of Chicago Postal History,” an assemblage of thousands of letters, will be auctioned in March by H.R. Harmer Fine Stamp Auctions of New York City. Nearly all were originally mailed from ...

the light of humans’ blazing cornerstone. I’m certainly not the first to write about the lost art of letter writing — an art that has been usurped by technology, texts and tweets. From TED Talks to ...

This story was originally published on April 24, 2025, and has been updated. The art of letter writing is not dead. Rachel Syme, a New Yorker staff writer, learned that during the early days of the ...

Letters did not count [as writing]. A woman might write letters while sitting by her father’s sick-bed. She could write them by the fire while the men talked without disturbing them. The strange thing ...

Johannes Vermeer, "Woman Writing a Letter with Her Maid" (c. 1670–72), oil on canvas; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (image © National Gallery of Ireland ...

Emailing, tweeting, texting — 20 years ago, these things were unheard of. Now, we can’t live without them. Although the advances in technology are amazing, we can lose some things along the way, as ...