LETTER-WRITING IN JANE AUSTEN'S DAY - With Rajiv Surendra and Professor Juliette Wells

Video Description

Field Trip! I visited The Morgan Library & Museum to learn all about letter-writing in Jane Austen's day. Co-curator Juliette Wells took me on a tour of the exhibit celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday, "A Lively Mind". Professor Wells, an expert on Jane Austen, showed me the hand-written letters in the exhibit and dove deep into the practice of letter writing at the time. This episode was graciously sponsored by Roundtable — the Online Classroom of The 92nd Street Y. Professor Wells will be teaching an upcoming course via Roundtable that explores Jane Austen's authorship and rise to fame. This three-part online class starts on August 13th, 2025, and is available here: https://bit.ly/JaneAusten250 https://www.rajivsurendra.com/pages/shop 🔴 RECOMMENDED VIDEOS/PLAYLISTS 🎥 VIDEO: My Updated Apartment Tour:    • How I Transformed my Apartment into a Magi...   🎥 VIDEO: MY NYTimes Storage Organization Tour:    • This Isn't Your Average Storage Space! Tou...   🎥 VIDEO: Tidying Your Mind:    • Is your mind a cluttered mess? Here’s how ...   🎥 VIDEO: How to Wash your Whites:    • How to Wash your Whites and keep them supe...   🎥 VIDEO: Wrapping Gifts Using No Tape:    • Wrapping gifts using NO TAPE with Rajiv Su...   🎥 VIDEO: How To Walk In Public:    • How To Walk In Public With Rajiv Surendra ...   🎥 LIST: Rajiv Surendra's Playlist Season 1:    • Rajiv Surendra's Playlist   ★ TABLE OF CONTENTS ★ • 0:00 | Introduction to Jane Austen Letter Writing Deep Dive • 0:37 | Meet Jane Austen Expert Juliet Wells at Morgan Library • 1:23 | Why Jane Austen Remains Popular After 200 Years • 2:41 | How to Read Historic Letters - Museum Conservation Secrets • 3:48 | Jane Austen's Letter Writing Process Revealed • 4:30 | Decoding Upside Down Text in Historic Letters • 5:07 | The Economics of 19th Century Postage System • 6:04 | How Letter Recipients Paid Postage Before 1840 • 7:05 | Sealing Wafers vs Sealing Wax - Cost Comparison • 8:19 | Jane Austen's Origami Letter Folding Techniques • 9:42 | How Postal Delivery Worked in Jane Austen's Era • 11:20 | Managing Letter Costs When Money Was Tight • 12:03 | Cross-Hatching - The Ultimate Space-Saving Technique • 13:29 | Writing Etiquette - Sisters vs Strangers • 15:10 | Modern Texting vs Historic Letter Writing Parallels • 15:56 | Jane Austen's Editing Process - Perfection on First Try • 17:25 | Jane Austen's Philosophy on Letter Writing Speed • 18:23 | Quill Pen Mastery - No Metal Nibs Allowed • 20:09 | Ink Management and Blob Prevention Techniques • 21:22 | Cassandra's Letter About Jane's Death - Reading Both Sides • 23:39 | The Architecture of Page Layout in Letter Writing • 25:33 | Recognizing Expert Letter Writing Techniques • 26:29 | The Lost Art of Handwritten Communication • 27:47 | Jane Austen's Puzzle Letter to 8-Year-Old Niece • 29:15 | Historic Geranium Gift Exchange • 30:42 | 92nd Street Y Roundtable Course Promotion 💡 TOPICS IN THIS VIDEO 💡 • Jane Austen Letter Writing • Historic Letter Reading Techniques • Morgan Library Exhibition • 19th Century Postage System • Sealing Wax vs Sealing Wafers • Cross Hatching Letter Technique • Quill Pen Writing Methods • Letter Folding Origami Style • Cassandra Austen Letters • Historic Postal Delivery • Manuscript Conservation • Handwriting Analysis • Letter Writing Architecture • Ink Blob Prevention • Georgian Era Communication • Literary Manuscript Study • Historic Paper Folding • Letter Writing Economics • Regency Period Correspondence • Jane Austen Handwriting • Museum Letter Collection • Historic Writing Tools • Letter Recipient Payment System • 18th Century Mail Service • Backward Letter Writing • Puzzle Letters for Children • Literary Sister Relationships • Historic Document Preservation • Letter Writing Etiquette Rules • Calligraphy Historical Techniques • Paper Conservation Methods • Vintage Correspondence Study • Literary Tourism • Historic Writing Materials • Educational Museum Content If you enjoy Rajiv's videos and would like to see more, please contribute to the gofundme campaign that is raising the funds to produce the content on this channel: https://gofund.me/fbcb3a22 ✅ Instagram:   / rajivsurendra   ✅ TikTok:   / rajivsurendra_   ✅ Twitter:   / rajivsurendra   🔴 ** ABOUT THIS CHANNEL ** Welcome to my YouTube Channel! I've been immersed in the creative and domestic arts for all my life and its a real honor to be sharing my interests with you. Click here to subscribe:    / rajivsurendra   🔎 HASHTAGS #janeausten #Rajivsurendra #regencyera