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I have a poignant letter written by my husband's great aunt to his grandmother that I would like to include in the family history. It discusses a tragic accident that altered his grandmother's and his father's life.

I have been looking for an interesting and unique way of displaying that letter in a family history book and I believe I have finally found a method I like.

I scanned the original letter, adjusted the levels and cleaned the unwanted spots, dust, etc. I then printed the letter on paper that was similar to the paper of the original letter. I cut the letter down to the same size as the original and folded it in the same manner.

I transcribed the original letter and printed it within the history, along with the information about the accident. On the page to the left (the opposite page) of the transcription, I attached an envelope with double sided tape and inserted the scanned letter. Now, the family can hold a facsimile of the original letter in their hands, in their ancestor's handwriting. I think this carries more impact than just a scanned image printed within the book.