Physical description

A small booklet of 116 pages and an Appendix of 9 pages containing samples of letters and note for all occasions.

Publication type

non-fiction

Summary

This very old book with an interesting title was widely published and reprinted on many occasions between 1872 and 2016.
Its title page describes it as “A useful compendium of epistolary materials gathered from the best sources, and adapted to suit an indefinite number of cases”.

Samuel Beeton was a well-known British publisher who gained his initial success as the publisher of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. He and his wife Isabella produced a long list of guide books, their most well-known being Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, which was also published as Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book in 1861. It sold over 60,000 copies in the first year and over 2 million in the next decade. Although Isabella Beeton died in 1865 the last reprint of her cookery book was carried out in 2016.

After Isabella’s death, Beeton's fortunes failed and he was obliged to sell the rights to the "Beeton" name to rival publishers Ward Lock and Co. and work for them for a salary. This led to a long list of publications still being released under the “Beeton” banner.
The first edition of Beeton’s Complete Letter Writer for Ladies and Gentlemen appears to have been published in 1873 by Ward Lock and Co. It was reprinted several times. Ward Lock & Co opened an office in Melbourne, Victoria in 1884 which is listed in the publisher details on the title page so helps to date this later edition.