Letter. A letter is a written message conveyed from one person to another person through a medium. Letters can be formal and informal. Besides a means of communication and a store of information, letter writing has played a role in the reproduction of writing as an art throughout history. Letters have been sent since antiquity and are mentioned in the Iliad. Historians Herodotus and Thucydides mention and utilize letters in their writings. Historically, letters have existed from the time of ancient India, ancient Egypt and Sumer, through Rome, Greece and China, up to the present day. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, letters were used to self-educate. Letters were a way to practice critical reading, self-expressive writing, polemical writing and also exchange ideas with like-minded others. For some people, letters were seen as a written performance. For others, it was not only seen as a performance but also as a way of communication and a method of gaining feedback. Letters make up several of the books of the Bible. Archives of correspondence, whether for personal, diplomatic, or business reasons, serve as primary sources for historians. At certain times, the writing of letters was thought to be an art form and a genre of literature, for instance in Byzantine epistolography. In the ancient world letters were written on a various different materials, including metal, lead, wax-coated wooden tablets, pottery fragments, animal skin, and papyrus. From Ovid, we learn that Acontius used an apple for his letter to Cydippe. 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 machine: a letter could be transferred from the sender to the receiver through the telephone network as an image. These technologies did not displace physical letters as the primary route for communication, however today, the internet, by means of email, plays the main role in written communications; however, these email communications are not generally referred to as letters but rather as e-mail messages, messages or simply emails or e-mails, with only the term letter generally being reserved for communications on paper. Due to the timelessness and universality of letter writing, there is a wealth of letters and instructional materials on letter writing throughout history. The study of letter writing usually involves both the study of rhetoric and grammar. Despite email, letters are still popular, particularly in business and for official communications. At the same time, many letters are sent in electronic form. Nevertheless, frequently, the following arguments are put forth saying letters may have the advantages over email: No special device is needed to receive a letter, just a postal address, and the letter can be read immediately on receipt. An advertising mailing can reach every address in a particular area. A letter provides immediate, and in principle permanent, physical record of communication, without the need for printing. Letters, especially those with a signature and/or on an organization's own notepaper, are more difficult to falsify than is an email and thus provide much better evidence of the contents of the communication. A letter in the sender's own handwriting is more personal than an email. If required, small physical objects can be enclosed in the envelope with the letter. Letters are unable to transmit malware or other harmful files that can be transmitted by email. Letter writing leads to the mastery of the technique of good writing. Letter writing can provide an extension of the face-to-face therapeutic encounter. Here is how a letter gets from the sender to the recipient: Sender writes letter and places it in an envelope on which the recipient's address is written in the centre front of the envelope. Sender ensures that the recipient's address includes the Zip or Postal Code and often includes his/her return address on the envelope. Sender buys a postage stamp and attaches it to the front of the envelope on the top right corner on the front of the envelope. Sender puts the letter in a postbox. The national postal service of the sender's country empties the postbox and transports all the contents to the regional sorting office.