1810 printing of the third edition, copyright roughly 1807. A New Classical Selection of Letters; Interspersed with Some Original Productions on Business, Duty, Friendship, Love, Marriage, etc. with Miscellaneous Piece, in Prose and Verse; Petitions on Various Subjects, Complimentary Cards, Forms in Law, and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Schultz Archive copy includes TOC, introduction, and a few pages covering correspondence between children and adults.
1888 copyrighted text. The author is credited as the author of Good Manners. Preface states that letter writing has been declared a lost art and that this text contains models of letters for every occasion that would demand correspondence. Contents includes letters on broken business engagement, declining to recommend, inquiring about a house to rent, excusing a pupil's absence, request for loan of money, recommending a governess, from lady to clergyman asking reference, form of a will, courtship and marriage, friendship, condolence, requesting favors, regrets and apology, etc. The book also contains a short section on the art of letter writing and a list of rules. The Schultz Archive copy contains the preface, TOC, the first few pages on the art of letter writing and the rules, and a selection of pages related to correspondence concerning children.
PDF of a facsimile from a copy in the Yale University Library. Library of Congress number 75-112064. Title page states it was written in 1798 and 1799. The author is credited as an M.D. Title page also states it was printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard. The copied chapter relates to the evaluation and production of "writing, or literary composition." Schultz Archive copy includes pages 50 – 75 (Letter IV: Perfection in Writing), 316 – 317. Highlighting partially or completely obscures some short passages of text.
1801 printing of the first American edition. Preface emphasizes Lord Chesterfield's approach to the refinement of taste; the epistolary style; and knowledge of life, men, and manner (appropriate for the gentleman, the scholar, and the man of education). Preface also states text has been revised and amended by Rev. Dr. Gregory to remove the parts which religion, virtue and morality would disapprove and to adapt it for schools and academies. Schultz Archive copy only includes the preface and first page of Letter sixty three: Of Style in Writing . . . Advantages of a good style . . . Examples of a bad Style . . . Cicero and Quintilian.
1811 printing of a new edition corrected and enlarged. The Universal Letter-Writer; Or, Whole Art of Polite Correspondence: A Great Variety of Plain, Easy, Entertaining and Familiar Original Letters Adapted to Every Age and Situation in Life, but More Particularly on Business, Education, and Love: Together with Various Forms and Petitions, Suitable to the different Wants and Exigencies of Life; Proper Methods of Addressing Superiors and Persons of All Ranks Both In Writing and Discourse; and Valuable Hints for Grammatical Correctness on All Occasions. To which is added a Modern Collection of Genteel Complimentary Cards. Likewise, Useful form in Law, such as Wills, Bonds, etc. To which is subjoined an index, To enable the reader immediately to find out any particular Letter of Article wanted. For the youthful and uniformed mind. The Schultz Archive copy contains the preface, introduction, the index, and a few pages from the main body of the text.
1823 printing of 1823 copyrighted text. A series of at leat thirty letters addressed to children on the subject of the state of New Hampshire. Letters cover geography, history, objects and other concerns of the state. The Schultz Archive copy contains just the preface the full text of one letter.
1829 printing. A series of fifty letters addressed to children on the subject of the state of Massachusetts. Letters cover counties, wildlife, topography, the principal towns of each county, and Indians. The Schultz Archive copy contains just a few of the letters and some of the pages are difficult to read due to the quality of the copies.
1945 printing. Reprinted from the Bulletin of the New York Public Library of December, 1944 and January, 1945. A handbook on letter-writing that excludes examples of historical, literary, and specialized (such as business) correspondence in favor of a general letter-writer for the "average" person. Introduction covers the history of the letter-writer handbook, dating back 1568. It credits much of its history to Katherine Gee Hornbeak's The Complete Letter Writing in English, 1568 – 1800. The text features examples of letters on general and specific topics (ex: A Father to his Daughter, Refusing his Consent to an Early Marriage). It also includes a bibliography called Preliminary Check List of American Letter-Writers, 1698-1943. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete 54 page text.
Parker is credited as Colonial Anglican clergyman at Boston, Second Bishop of Massachusetts, and supporter of Samuel Seabury of Connecticut. The title page states his correspondence has been calendared, summarized and indexed. The introduction states the volume will "enlarge our perspectives on the whole Colonial Church and the formation of the early National Church." The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete text.