<img width="640" height="640" src="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-700x700.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear:both;max-width: 100%;" srcset="http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-700x700.jpg 700w, http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-150x150.jpg 150w, http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-300x300.jpg 300w, http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-640x640.jpg 640w, http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-170x170.jpg 170w, http://uh8yh30l48rpize52xh0q1o6i.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-attachment-id="27631" data-permalink="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/2017/12/18/desk-ware-from-a-simpler-time/1997-11-4_9-2/" data-orig-file="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="1997-11-4_9" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-300x300.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1997-11-4_9-700x700.jpg" />In this age of electronic assistants, it is hard for many to fathom a time when telephone service was limited and mail, or what today is referred to as “snail mail”, was the order of the day. During the early decades of the twentieth century written letters were the most common form of communication, and...
