Long live the love letter: how to write the perfect note

The tradition of taking pen to paper, or fingers to keyboards, in the name of love is far from a dying art form.  We look back at the history and resurgence of the humble handwritten note

S.W.A.L.K: Standout from the crowd by sending someone you love a handwritten letter this Valentine's Day. Picture: iStock

'Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, I can live only wholly with you or not at all. Be calm my life, my all. Oh continue to love me, never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours,' wrote Ludwig van Beethoven to his love around 1812.

Ever since Beethoven’s famous letter-writing was featured in the 2008 Sex and the City movie, the maestro has become known nearly as much for his swooning romantic words as his legendary melodies. Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional book of Love Letters by Great Men, in which she quoted one of Beethoven’s letters sent fans into a frenzy as love letters started to become mainstream again.