Why people saved paper
Before postal reform, the price of a letter depended on the number of sheets and the distance, and a second sheet doubled the cost. Paper was not cheap either. Writing twice as much on one sheet meant sending a long letter for the price of a short one.
The practice was widespread and was not considered sloppy. Educated people wrote this way, including famous writers, and recipients regarded it as normal. Many such letters have survived, and they look like a dense checkered fabric made of letters.
Reading it is easier than it seems. The eye quickly learns to stick to one direction and ignore the perpendicular layer.
How can this even be read
Sometimes people went even further and added a third layer diagonally. Such letters are difficult to read even with experience, and archivists usually scan them and separate the layers on a computer so they do not strain their eyes.
Why the practice disappeared
As soon as the price of a letter stopped depending on the number of sheets, there was no reason to save paper this way. Paper also became cheaper with the arrival of machine production. The practice disappeared within one generation, and by the end of the 19th century it already looked old-fashioned.
It left behind an unexpected legacy: such letters are a valuable source for historians. They contained more details than ordinary letters because the writer did not economize on words while economizing on paper.
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Sources
- Cross-writing was widespread in Europe and America before the postal reform of the mid-19th century, when the price stopped depending on the number of sheets