A crossed letter is a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...

letter which contains two separate sets of writing, one written over the other at right-angles. This was done during the early days of the

postal system The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

in the 19th century to save on expensive postage charges, as well as to save paper. This technique is also called cross-hatching or cross-writing. A cross letter is distinct from a

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scr ...

, as cross-hatched manuscripts were written this way at one sitting or for the same purpose (such as a diary), rather than being re-used later.

References

External links

* Letters (message) Manuscripts Postal systems Writing {{writingsystem-stub