The Letter Exchange - Links Related to Issue 8

	THE LETTER EXCHANGE
	Connecting Penfriends Since 1982

Links related to Issue 8, Autumn 2005
	Helen Keller wrote a number of books, including her early autobiography, The Story of My Life. Many other books have been written about her, particularly since her death in 1968.	You could have purchased these first adhesive postage stamp, printed by the United Kingdom in 1840. The Dante commemorative is here. Some stamp-collecting organizations include the American Philatelic Society, UK Philately, the Australian Philatelic Society, the British North America Philatelic Society (Canada), The Royal Philatelic Society London (the world's oldest). In Issue 8, LEX prints the last of 3 excerpts from 3 books in the Self-Made series (page 8). The series actually includes 4 books: the one LEX didn't use is Old Gorgon Graham, More Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son, written by George Horace Lorimer, first published in 1903, and published online in 2004 by Project Gutenberg. Designs for Democracy (page 13) is an online exhibit at the National Archives displaying everything from building designs to a proposal for an American flag with 50 stars in a snowflake pattern. The Post Mark Collectors Club offers an online gallery of over 3000 post office photos as well as much information on postmarks and other postal topics. If your curiosity is sparked by the Cyrillic letter on page 14, you can find a description and history of the Cyrillic alphabet at Omniglot. See Cyrillic in action at the Russian language version of Pravda. Issue 8's "World of Letters" features Helen Keller (page 22). Ms. Keller helped found the American Foundation for the Blind and the American Civil Liberties Union. She also supported the Industrial Home for the Blind, which renamed itself the Helen Keller Services for the Blind to honor her after her death. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone and founder of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, recommended Anne Sullivan, a graduate of the Perkins Institution (now School) for the Blind, as Helen's teacher. Want a free braille alphabet card? The non-profit National Braille Press offers one. An early alternative to braille was Moon type. The editors of LEX were interviewed in May about letters and letter-writing (From the Editors, page 29). Here's the article on sidebar by the reporter about her own penpal experiences [links no longer available].
	Alexander Graham Bell originally invented the telephone as an instrument for the hard of hearing. In addition to the telephone, Bell patented, alone or with collaborators, the telegraph, photophone, phonograph, aerial vehicles, and hydroairplanes.
	Louis Braille, who lost his sight at an early age, developed his system of writing as an improvement over that of Charles Barbier, which was intended as a means of silent and invisible military communication.
	The Self-Made series of George Horace Lorimer, despite (or perhaps because of) its quaint, earthy advice, has been in and out of print for the last 100 years, most recently reprinted this year.
	Charles Eustace Merriman's continuation of the Self-Made series adds an even breezier and sometimes more pointed style; these books have also been recently reprinted.
	You don't need to collect stamps to find them fascinating. Many people like to look and learn – collecting is fun too!
Clicking on the links in this column will take you to Powell's, the world's largest independent bookstore. Any purchase you make by following one of these links will help support LEX – not just these items but any book or DVD in their inventory.		Back to Issue-Related Links
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