Who owns a letter?

[Marthe48]

The person who wrote it? Or the recipient? Is a letter like a gift, once given, property of the recipient?

I just gave an old letter to a cousin, written by her Dad to my Mom. They passed away years ago, and I thought she'd like having it. But I wondered if they were still alive, which one would have more of a claim?

[iscooterliberally]

1. I would imagine the recipient would be the owner.

I'm no legal scholar or scholar of anything really though, so don't take my word for it.

[Harker]

2. In a case where both the writer and recipient have died, I would think the chosen heir of the recipient would assume

ownership.

[3catwoman3]

3. What an interesting question.

[Marthe48]

4. I thought so

Not really a legal claim, but maybe emotional. My uncle shared his personality when he wrote the letter, put part of himself on paper. So far, I haven't found other letters from him to her, so my Mom might have treasured having it. Maybe they both would have had a legitimate claim. I think my uncle would be pleased she kept it. And I hope my cousin enjoys reading something her Dad wrote when he was a young soldier

[3catwoman3]

6. I have a least a dozen letters written by a paternal great-grandfather...

...to his mother while he was serving in the Union army in the early years of the Civil War. I consider them quite a treasure. Some are quite faded, but the paper is in good condition. With the very faded ones I made a photocopy of each, and then made successively darker copies of the copies to render them more readable. Also, the handwritig is very elaborate and sometimes hard to decipher.

It is rather eerie to read his statements like, "We are encamped in front of the Rebels a bout one mile. We are expecting a Battle with them at any moment," or, "the Rebels lost in killing and wounded (illegible) I helped Bury about one hundred fifty of them we Buryed them all in one Grave." Also mentions of Generals Hooker and McClelland (his misspelling), and "the army of the Potomack (sic)."

What seem like typos in the above paragraph are not my errors, but exact reproduction of how he wrote things. Some of what made reading these letters difficult was variable spelling and lack of punctuation. Many sentences did not begin with a capital letter or end with a period. Words that began with a "g" or a "b" were usually capitalized, no matter where in a sentence they occurred. Those were his initials, so maybe that is why. And, he typically signed his letters with both his first and last name, even tho writing to his mother. Additionally, his penmanship was very "fluorishey" and elaborate, quite feminine looking, which was also a challenge.

[Marthe48]

7. Those are treasures.

I wonder if there is a way to preserve them? If the ink can be refreshed or fixed.

I have family cards and letters from the early 20th c. Also got some undated letters from different sales. Fun to read

[3catwoman3]

8. And what a loss it would be if I could not read cursive.

[LoisB]

5. The recipient is the "owner" of the letter.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Seems Right To Me

Also, while not likely legally binding, I think "possession in nine-tenths of the law" applies, too.
The OP had the letter; didn't obtain it with nefarious means, and it was to their mom.
Hard to envision how the family of the writer "owns" it.

[LoisB]

10. Exactly how I see it.