One hundred and ten letters from the founders of the American Psychiatric Association to its first secretary, and forty letters from Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride to the founders, have been reviewed. The letters, dated from 1843 to 1865, cover the founding and early years of the Association and reveal the character of the "Original Thirteen" as well as their concerns and struggles. Probably the only founder who would have supposed that this correspondence would be preserved was Pliny Earle, who with his usual wit, wrote to Dr. Kirkbride:Abstract Teaser