Epistolary Record Example

The cards are very useful tools for documentary researchers. When an investigation has as a source of information an epistle or letter, it is convenient to carry out a epistolary record that allows to organize these documents for their easy location.

Like the bibliographic cards, the epistolary record is a piece of cardstock paper of an easy to handle size, usually 12.6 cm wide by about 20 cm in long, where a series of notes and important data are written regarding the documents that have been concentrated.

The size, shape and information that is stored in the epistolary record allows the source document of information to be obtained quickly.

The parts that form a epistolary record They are:

• Name of the Investigation.
• Investigation Date.
• Investigator's name.
• Name of the sender of the letter.
• Name of the recipient of the letter.
• Date the letter was sent.
• If it is possible to obtain the information on the date the letter was received, it should be noted.
• Subject dealt with in the letter.
• A brief summary of its content.
• Investigator Notes.

Epistolary letter example:

Name of the investigation: Conquest of Mexico.

Investigation Date: June 23, 2013.

Researcher Name: Ronaldo Castillo Peralta

Sender: Hernán Cortés

Recipients: Queen Juana and Emperor Carlos V

Date of Posting: July 10, 1519

Subject: Justice and Regiment of the Villa Rica de La Veracruz.

Summary: In this epistle Don Hernán Cortés informs the kings of Spain about the discovery of new lands to the southeast of the Villa Rica de la Veracruz to which he gives the name of Yucatán.

Cortés narrates the way in which these lands have been conquered by the Spanish and the resistance that was encountered by of the natives, explaining that the Spanish Empire can use and benefit from the wealth obtained from these new conquests.