Shelf-list · Revised quarterly

The Catalogue

Each entry records the letter's number, the date it arrived, the weather outside the writer's window, and the distance the words wished to travel. We do not record the names of the addressees; that is a courtesy we extend to the silence between them.

  1. № 004 14 March 1908 Fog, lifting by noon A room, and then the sea Written on a physician's prescription pad.
  2. № 037 22 June 1921 Clear, warm wind from the east Fourteen miles by rail Folded into the lining of a coat.
  3. № 089 03 November 1934 Rain, steady The next street, no further Three drafts survive; this is the last.
  4. № 142 09 August 1952 Thunder, distant An ocean, and a decade In blue ink; the final line is smudged.
  5. № 178 17 January 1967 Snow, dry and quiet Upstairs Never folded. Found between pages of a novel.
  6. № 217 30 September 1978 Overcast, a gull crying The morning of a departure On the reverse of a tide chart. See specimen →
  7. № 263 11 April 1985 Bright, cold A name, withheld here Sealed with a thumbprint, no wax.
  8. № 311 02 December 1996 Fog, as in 1908 Back to the beginning Written in a hand that trembles only at the close.
  9. № 354 19 July 2007 Still, salt air A harbour, and then nothing Typed; the carriage return is uneven.
  10. № 412 05 October 2026 Overcast, mild To whoever reads this Received yesterday. Still warm to the touch.