ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996              TAG: 9602230054
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE

A TIME OF FINE PAPER, FORMAL WRITING

A thin, faded border runs around the edge of the George Washington letter, outlining the frame in which it once was encased.

Archivist Vaughan Stanley, who came to Washington and Lee University three years ago from Robert E. Lee's birthplace at Stratford Hall, removed the frame. He stored the letter in an acid-free folder, handles it lovingly and admires the workmanship of Washington's paper.

"The paper he used in 1798 was much better than the paper used, say, in 1989 to produce books. The materials in it were not as acidic; they did not self-destruct from within," he said.

Many years ago, the letter was laminated at the now-defunct Barrows Laboratory in Richmond. However, this is not the plastic laminating that encases your credit card. It feels ever-so-slightly like wax and adds a breath of extra weight to the paper.

"He has what reads to us like a formal writing style, but it was the custom - and certainly expected of someone in his position," Stanley said.

As was customary, a double "s" - such as that found in the word "politeness" - is written first with an "f," and then an "s": "Politenefs."

The George Washington letter is not on public display.

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