Antarctic Postmarks

Exotic postmarks have an allure and charm about them, especially the more well-known and scarce postmarks, such as mail postmarked from the Titanic or the Hindenburg.

When I heard about an opportunity to possibly receive mail postmarked from Antarctica, I prepared four envelopes and sent them off to the first two addresses listed on this government website. I wanted to see if I received anything before sending to all three locations.

There's no guarantee that you'll receive your stamped envelopes back, but I thought it was worth a try and was glad to see two of them show up in my mailbox with their deliciously clear postmarks-  especially on the envelope above with the postage stamps of Arctic explorers.

These both came from the McMurdo station as you can see from the postmarks above.

I've previously posted about postmarks here and here.

Do you collect postmarks? Do you have a favorite or a place you wish you could have one from?

Lovely Mail to Brighten My Day

I have been fortunate to receive some unique and unexpected mail in the last few weeks. Back in December I received this lovely piece of mail from Pamela at Cappuccino & Art Journal. Pamela is such a talented and dedicated mail artist and I just love looking at her blog and seeing all of the mail eye candy that she posts. I will save for another post just what was in this artfully created envelope.

This unique Christmas card came in an envelope made of vellum. I received this in early December and plan to reuse the front of the holiday card next year as a holiday postcard.

Last, but not least, the most unique mail item of all. This letter has a unique postmark from St. George's School and was sent by Ilona, aka, the Missive Maven. Ilona explained that the school had one day to use this commemorative postmark which was created in honor of the school's 100 anniversary.

And there you have it. Some recent highlights of my mail box. Naturally each of these senders should be on the look out for something in return.

Postmarks

I've recently begun saving postmarks from letters and giving them their own page in my stamp album. There's a certain thrill for us postal geeks when we find a perfectly preserved postal marking. This is especially useful when you come across old letters and you're trying to determine if the date reads '1918' or '1928'.

 These photos are from an assortment I've collected in the last few years. I decided to keep them together in the in the SuperSafe stamp album I purchased last year at the National Postal Museum store. I had not really considered myself a stamp collector, but now that I have an album with a few stamps in it, I guess I have to rethink that.

In addition to collecting nicely defined postmarks, I also collect a few different themes of stamps that appeal to me- holiday, authors/writing, cartoons, US states and a handful of cute or colorful stamps that just appeal to me.

I prefer the round postmarks as pictured above and below. They are more evocative of the postal imagery than the machine stamped postmarks that are more common these days. I save all of the letters I receive and every few years I'll go through the envelopes and cut out the stamps and postmarks that I want to save.

The 'Forman' postmark above is from my hometown of Forman, ND. I'm not sure where this stamp came from or what year the postmark is from.

Stamps and postmarks. Just part of the fun and ephemera of mail from today and yesterday.

I Love Mail!

I love getting mail! I love reading about how a letter can make a change in the world. I love sending mail. I love postcards. I love the nostalgic idea of sitting at a desk and writing a letter. I love mail art. I love reading about mail. I love touching other lives through thoughtful gestures. I love stamps- not that I collect them, but I enjoy seeing fun and different ones. Did you know that you can order stamps online from the USPS? They have a great selection and it only costs $1 to ship your order.

I am so excited about my magazine, Letters & Journals, that will cover all of these topics and so much more. There will be articles on

Pens & Stationery
Product Reviews

Letters in the Armed Services
Has email replaced letters? Not yet!

Wax & Seals
Letter Embellishments

Letters in the Attic
The role of letters in your family's history

Exotic Postmarks
The allure of faraway lands

Even as I write this, Kathryn Forss at Daisy Mae Design is working her artful magic in creating the branding logo which is one of the first steps necessary for getting the magazine off the ground. Kathy has a strong background in magazine publishing and I have none, so I think that is a good combination. Don't you?