To G. M. Chekhov, 1 May 1887. Ragozina Balka.

1 A brief note written on 1 May 1887 from Ragozina Balka, a steppe homestead near Taganrog where Chekhov was staying during his spring journey through his native Don region. The addressee, Georgy Mitrofanovich Chekhov, was Anton’s cousin, a bank clerk in Taganrog who often handled mail and small errands for family members passing through or away from the city.

2 The letter is purely logistical: Chekhov asks Georgy to hold his mail rather than continue forwarding it to Krestnaya station, since he expects to see him shortly, and closes with greetings to Georgy’s parents (Chekhov’s uncle Mitrofan and aunt), his cousin Vladimir ("Volodya"), and the girls of the household. The full postal address is written out on the reverse, as epistolary custom required for a piece of correspondence folded and sent without an envelope.