World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition

Good news for the classically inclined: Writing a letter using ink and a quill is back in fashion. In many shops in Germany, one can choose different widths of nib that influence the look of the script.

The signature is a crucial part of every letter, so don't be afraid to express yourself. After all, your signature may one day be considered art: In many museums and literary archives in Germany, historical letters are admired by thousands of visitors. This photo shows a letter from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Friedrich Schiller on display in the National Museum in Weimar.

In the Middle Ages, only artists and official writers were permitted to write letters, as letterwriting was considered a craft. Letters of the imperial court were particularly lush in design. Just take a look at this official document from 1521, in which German Emperor Charles V summoned Martin Luther to the Reichstag in Worms, where he was to recant his controversial theses.

The ornamentation of private letters was left to the skills of each writer. Nuremberg painter Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) loved scribbling small funny drawings and sketches of his contemporaries in his letters, which shows that emoji are not a modern invention. Dürer addressed this letter to his friend, lawyer and author Willibald Pirckheimer (1470-1530).

Highly official letters were not written on paper or parchment. Monarchs who were keen to demonstrate their wealth fancied much more valuable materials such as pure gold. On top of that, this letter from Burmese king George Alaungphaya to English King George II 1756 is adorned with 24-carat rubies. It is stored in the vault of the Leibniz Library in Hanover.

Some letters are not valued for the material they're written on but rather for their historic significance. This one from 1912 was composed by Esther Hart, who traveled on the luxury steamboat Titanic together with her husband and daughter. She wanted to mail the letter after arriving to New York. Esther was one of the 710 survivors of the tragedy. She carried the letter in her coat pocket.

Jewish emigrants and refugees from Nazi Germany had often very little time to pack up personal belongings. Everything had to fit into a suitcase, and the Gestapo frisked everyone who was on the deportation lists, which is why this letter from the ghetto in Warsaw is particularly precious. The rare specimen is owned by the Historical Institute in Warsaw.

This one is proof that letters have a place even in modern times as well. A six-year-old boy named Alex sent it directly to to US President Barack Obama in the White House in Washington, asking him to help a little boy from Syria he'd seen in a photo sitting alone in a rescue vehicle after a bomb attack in Aleppo. Today, the letter is in the White House archives.