The Letter Writer

I ran across this image of a letter writer in Cairo taking down a letter from a veiled (presumably) Muslim woman. The artist, David Roberts, has captured perfectly the posture and attitude people have when dictating a letter like that. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's almost like the person is unconsciously leaning forward just a little, hands slightly open, as if speaking to the person they'll be sending the letter to. Anyway, it's a lovely drawing, turned into a lithograph by Louis Haghe.

Something else that struck me about this image is the idea of having someone else write a letter for you. Not only would it be somewhat frustrating to be unable to read or write for yourself, but you probably wouldn't want to relate very personal things. I am one of the few people who still writes letters and sends them by snail mail. I can't imagine anyone but the people intended knowing the content of those letters. Letters to me are just so personal. But in those days, there weren't a lot of people who could read and write, so letter writers were fairly common.

This makes me want to go write a letter now...