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The letter of introduction, along with the visiting card, was an important part of polite social interaction in the 18th and 19th centuries. It remains important in formal situations, such as an
The letter of introduction, along with the visiting card, was an important part of polite social interaction in the 18th and 19th centuries. It remains important in formal situations, such as an ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
presenting his or her credential
A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or ''de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so.
Examples of credentials include aca ...
s (a letter of credence
A letter of credence (, ) is a formal Diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to an ...
), and in certain business circles.
In general, a person would not interact socially with others unless they had been properly introduced, whether in person or by letter. A person of lower social status would request a patron of higher social status to write a letter of introduction to a third party, also of higher social status than the first person. It was important to observe the niceties of etiquette
Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
in requesting, writing and presenting such letters, in such matters as the quality of the paper used, and whether it would be delivered unsealed to allow the requesting party to read it. For example, it was best practice to deliver a letter of introduction to the intended recipient with a visiting card, to allow the recipient to reciprocate by calling upon the sender the next day.
When Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
served as Ambassador to France (1776–1785) he was besieged by those traveling to America who desired letters of introduction, and he drafted the following letter:
See also
*Letter of recommendation
A letter of recommendation or recommendation letter, also known as a letter of reference, reference letter, or simply reference, is a document in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recomme ...
References
Etiquette Introduction, Letter Of {{culture-stub