In 1949, Helene Hanff of New York City writes to Marks & Co., a London bookstore, after seeing the shop’s ad for out-of-print books. A devoted reader frustrated by the poor quality of American editions, she is seeking clean, inexpensive secondhand copies and includes a few specific requests.

Twenty days later, Marks & Co. responds. It sends three volumes of Hazlitt essays but has not yet located a suitable copy of the Leigh Hunt essays Hanff requested, and the shop asks for clarification on her request for a Latin Bible. Hanff replies with thanks for the books, offers payment, and asks for prices translated from pounds into dollars. She also notes the cultural differences between London and New York: “I hope ‘madam’ doesn’t mean over there what it does here” (3). Marks & Co. confirms that her money arrived safely and requests that she use a postal money order in the future, adding that the shop has sent off the New Testaments she requested.

On November 18, 1949, Hanff complains that the Anglican Bible has ruined the beauty of the Latin Vulgate. She prefers the original and jokes about religious differences without taking them too seriously. She casually encloses $4, tells Marks & Co.