How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters), page 19 by Mary Owens Crowther
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SIGNATURE
The signature is written below the complimentary close and a little to the right, so that it ends about at the right-hand margin. In signing a social letter a married woman signs herself as "Evelyn Rundell," not "Mrs. James Rundell" nor "Mrs. Evelyn Rundell." The form "Mrs. James Rundell" is used in business letters when the recipient might be in doubt as to whether to address her as "Mrs." or "Miss." Thus a married woman would sign such a business letter:
Yours very truly, Evelyn Rundell (Mrs. James Rundell).
An unmarried woman signs as "Ruth Evans," excepting in the case of a business letter where she might be mistaken for a widow. She then prefixes "Miss" in parentheses, as (Miss) Ruth Evans.
A woman should not sign only her given name in a letter to a man unless he is her fiancé or a relative or an old family friend.
A widow signs her name with "Mrs." in parentheses before it, as (Mrs.) Susan Briggs Geer.
A divorced woman, if she retains her husband's name, signs her letters with her given name and her own surname followed by her husband's name, thus:
Janet Hawkins Carr.
and in a business communication:
Janet Hawkins Carr (Mrs. Janet Hawkins Carr).
A signature should always be made by hand and in ink. The signature to a business letter may be simply the name of the writer. Business firms or corporations have the name of the firm typed above the written signature of the writer of the letter. Then in type below comes his official position. Thus:
Hall, Haines & Company (typewritten) Alfred Jennings (handwritten) Cashier (typewritten).
If he is not an official, his signature is preceded by the word "By."
In the case of form letters or routine correspondence the name of the person directly responsible for the letter may be signed by a clerk with his initials just below it. Some bu