"It's becoming a lost art," says Melissa de Bie, director of History Colorado’s Collections Management and Administration.

In times of old, suitors, married ladies and gents alike wrote love letters in hopes that the recipient of their letters would be swept off their feet by their candid, sincere and even somewhat poetic display of feelings. Some of these historic letters were so greatly treasured that they’ve survived centuries.

At History Colorado, the oldest letters in its collections date back to the 1870s.  “Our vast collection brings the rich documentary legacy of Colorado's past to researchers here and around the world,” says Melissa de Bie, “You will find everything from historic maps and documents to teapots, vehicles, and clothing in our collection, as well as a photography collection containing more than a million images dating from as early as the 1850s."

In terms of the most historic love letters in the History Colorado collection, the most notable are:

• Letters from our Siglin-Evans collection between Homer Evans and Estella Siglin (circa 1910)
• Invitation to the wedding of Eusebio Chacon and Sofia Barela (statesman Casimiro Barela's daughter) circa November 1891
• Letter from William Gilpin to Gen. Pratte, January 1874, asking for permission to marry Pratte's daughter Julia
• Love letters from various suitors to Baby Doe Tabor circa late 1870s-early 1880s
• Love letters from Lt. Charles Stewart to his wife Phyllis while overseas fighting in WWI

The most recognizable historic of these letters would be William Gilpin (Colorado's first territorial governor) and Baby Doe Tabor (wife of Horace Tabor).

But, in today’s world of instant electronic means of communication – email, of course, and increasingly social media such as Twitter and Facebook have pushed pen, paper and postboxes to the edge of most private correspondents’ consciousness.  “Perhaps with the loss of letter writing, we may lose some of the rich detail of our history,” says de Bie. 

She makes the point that between “the inbox and the shoebox”, only one will be “treasured, hoarded, moved when we move or forgotten to be found afterwards ... Emails are a poke, but letters are a caress and letters stick around to be newly discovered.”

At History Colorado, while electronic communications is mainstream today, and while letters and letter writing constitute “a vanishing world”, the organization prefers to celebrate the art of letter writing and its collection of historic love letters, especially as Valentine’s Day approaches.

History Colorado’s Stephen H. Hart Library and Research Center at 1200 Broadway, is the primary access point to History Colorado’s collection of archives, artifacts, and photography.  The Library is open Wednesdays-Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  In addition to archives and photographs, artifacts like the love letters are available for you to see and explore on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  And to see a selection of our artifacts visit www.h-co.org/collections.

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History Colorado's mission is to inspire generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in creating a better Colorado. We serve as the state's memory, preserving the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through our museums, educational programs, historic preservation grants, research library, collections, and outreach to Colorado communities. Find History Colorado on all major social media platforms. Visit HistoryColorado.org or call (303) HISTORY for more information.