Telegrams

1917 World War I telegram from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance

A telegram is a written or printed message, originally sent through telegraphy. The use of the telegrams was popular for social and business correspondence in the latter half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Even in the telephone age, the telegram remained popular, and spawned its own style of writing that in turn persisted in other media. Telegram services still exist today, though the popularity has largely waned, replaced by other forms of text communication. alt=Western Union telegram sent to President Dwight Eisenhower wishing him a speedy recovery from his heart attack

Prussian telegram and press release that incited the French Empire to start the Franco-Prussian War

1896 telegram

confidential diplomatic message exchanged between embassies or consulates

1945 message sent by Hermann Göring to Adolf Hitler

document

communique on the Holocaust

stamps intended solely for the prepayment of telegraph fees

A mailgram is a type of telegraphic message which is delivered to the recipient by the post office. Mailgrams are received at a mailgram center by telephone, teletypewriter service or computer. Each message is placed in a special envelope and dispatched to the local post office for delivery with the mail.