ABSTRACT
As Tom Lehrer's acerbic observation suggests, mass-produced letters sit uneasily at the intersection of public and private domains. One might even regard the term 'letters' as an inappropriate description of this type of printed, yet individualised, communication. This chapter is about the misfitting missives. It is about the types of 'letters' that have emerged out of a research programme undertaken on behalf of large Australian organisations to help them improve their letters, notices and bills for citizens, customers and clients. The chapter focuses on the linguistic and typographic features that have emerged from the ongoing research programme. The development of postal systems and the invention of the typewriter enabled institutions to use the false personalisation in a new, more customised way. The chapter discusses the manifest output from the research programme undertaken by the Institute: a typical example of a unique letter that is produced for an individual customer by the combination of database and high-speed laser printing technology.
