Etiquette and Unsealed Letters

Especially unsafe is it to place in an unsealed package articles of large money value. Would any sane man send a $50 bill in an unsealed envelope by the hand of a friend or anybody whomsoever? The friend himself, if he knew the nature of the enclosure, would be very apt to protest against this sacrifice of common sense at the shrine of etiquette.

The point of etiquette, in regard to not sealing letters sent by the hand of a friend, is to be considered, undoubtedly, as settled by the usage of polite society. And yet there are two sides to the question. To intrust to a friend an unsealed letter to a third person is a compliment to the friend; but why should it be thought necessarily uncomplimentary if the letter be sealed? On the other hand, the sealing of a letter may be deemed always advisable, for one good reason at least. The contents of an unsealed letter are never safe. They are safe so far as the honorable friend is concerned, but not safe in any other sense. 

They may be lost from the envelope easily and innocently. They may be abstracted and read by the servant to whom the note is delivered at the door, or by any prying individual who may find the missive lying on the hall table and awaiting the owner's arrival. Especially unsafe is it to place in an unsealed package articles of large money value. Would any sane man send a $50 bill in an unsealed envelope by the hand of a friend or anybody whomsoever? The friend himself, if he knew the nature of the enclosure, would be very apt to protest against this sacrifice of common sense at the shrine of etiquette.- “C. S. E.” in New York Commercial Advertiser, 1888

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