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.

Texas Pen Giveaway

Winner of the Cross pen as featured in the June newsletter was Charles M. from Virginia! This Sterling Silver Cross Townsend fountain pen (retail $425) was generously donated by The Texas Pen Company. Congratulations, Charles!

Contest entrants were asked to submit a story idea for the printed version of Letters & Journals. I'm compiling these and will create a blog post with them soon. I've been developing my own list for the last five years and was pleasantly surprised and very pleased to see so many new ideas. Thanks to all who entered!

Show Me Your Stationery

Like many of my fellow stationery addicts, I collect stationery wherever I go. Stores, garage sales, letterhead from old jobs, and, of course, hotels.

My favorite is the Forman Implement Company. I only have one sheet of this so I protect it and copy it on nice resume paper when I want to use it (not often).

Next is my assortment of hotel stationery. I collect this and use it frequently. Mostly I stay in the Hilton family of hotels so I tend to have a lot of their stationery. I won't bother showing all that I have as they are pretty much the same, just a different city.

 

The following stationery is from Ireland. We spent just one night in Bantry at the Bantry House & Garden. I was hoping for a castle, but this country manor was as close as got. The view was breathtaking.

Maybe you'd prefer to see a picture of the hotel rather than the nondescript stationery.

Naturally I do have stationery that is not hotel related. Next time I will do a post on that.

Show Me Your Stationery is a weekly feature of the Molly & the Princess blog. If you have stationery you want to share with the world, check out Molly's blog.

If you are inspired to share your stationery (I hope you are), please consider participating in Molly's 'Show Me Your Stationery' by including her badge in your blog post. Click on Molly's badge to be taken to her site where you'll see other participants and their stationery.

July Stationery Giveaway

Welcome to the July Stationery Giveaway at Letters & Journals! To be entered to win this wonderful selection of prizes from our generous sponsors, just leave a comment with your email address so that you can be contacted. (If you're registered at the website, then you don't need to include it with your comment.)

This lovely writing journal was donated by Journaling Arts who has been a long time sponsor of the monthly giveaways. The deep red color, the heart on the cover and the word 'Amore' in the bottom right hand corner all combine to make this a journal where you'll want to write your most private thoughts.

The Texas Pen Company donated this calligraphy set that comes with 2 Scheaffer Fountain Pens, 3 calligraphy nibs, 14 ink cartridges, a practice pad and calligraphy booklet with step-by-step instructions.Who doesn't like trying new pens and experimenting with our handwriting?

The note card set featured below is from the Rifle Paper Company. This note card has four different designs all featuring insects such as the Caterpillar you see here.

This pink orchid designer pen came from Peter Pauper Press. The fine point rollerball writes in black ink. The Chinese proverb on the back of the box says "Words are but air; the pen leaves a mark."

If you're looking for some writing stationery for you new pink orchid pen, look no further than this unique writing tablet by Botanical Paperworks. The paper is made from 100% post consumer waste paper and the seed cover is embedded with wildflower seeds and can be planted.

Journals and Papers donated this dream journal. This blue hardcover book has blank pages with an inspirational quote in the corner of each page to act as your muse. Instructions on the cover state, "Hope, wish and dream daily as needed."

The Parker Planner is small enough to fit in your purse or pocket and contains undated pages and extra free space so you can create the day planner to fit your needs.  Thanks Parker Planner for contributing to our monthly giveaway!

Ex Libris Anonymous (Book Journals) recycles old used books and turns them into personal journals by filling with quality blank paper while leaving a selection of the original text interspersed in the book to make a unique writing journal.

Haley's Handmades contributed a set of note cards, a set of 6 bookplates and some individual note cards all featuring her animated poodles. Below is just one of the designs.

Sean McMahon has created musical note cards with a variety of themes. If you visit his website you can see a large selection of his cards as well as hear some of the songs.

Chewy Tulip sent in a themed selection this month- it is all about bears! Included in this packet are 3 postcards, 6 mini note cards and a magnet.

On August 1 a winner will be selected from the comments that are posted to this blog. Make sure to leave your email address so you can be contacted if you win. Good Luck!

Edward Gorey #14

Who doesn't love to get a postcard in the mail? Sending these Edward Gorey cards from the 2011 Postcard calendar has been a lot of fun.  Behold postcard #14!

 People on bicycles eating berries, because that's what people in Edward Gorey's world do.

So I've chosen a number between 1-100. The first person to guess the number will get this postcard. Just leave a comment with your email so that I know how to reach you to get your mailing address.

#4 was the selected number in honor of the July 4th holiday. Since #2 was the closest, I will send bascombe2 this card. Send your mailing address to Jackie (at) lettersandjournals (dot)com or jackieflaherty (at) yahoo (dot) com. If anyone else who entered the contest wants to leave their address I will send them another card. Specify if you want 'Gorey' or 'Any'. If you select 'Gorey, you may get one of the upcoming ones. If you select 'Any' then I will send a MN postcard.

Letters & Journals Subscriptions

Letters & Journals has begun accepting subscriptions to the print magazine! We're offering charter subscriptions ($15 for 2 issues) to the first 1,000 people. The premiere edition will be available this Dec 2011 and the second edition will follow next summer, July 2012.

You can sign up by going to the SUBSCRIBE page. Payment options include check, money order or Paypal. The magazine will also be available in a digital version.

If you have any questions or problems with your sign up, please contact us:

Customer Service 
Jackie Flaherty

Thanks for being a faithful supporter of Letters & Journals as we started with an idea + blog and now have a website, e-newsletter and are on schedule to have the print magazine published in just a few months. Thank You!

Winner of the Monsieur Notebook

Olivia L from CA was the selected winner (#33) of the Monsieur Notebook as featured in this blog post.  Loved seeing all of the comments and emails about what people would do with this notebook should they win. Olivia said that she's an avid journaler and is about to finish her current journal so will start anew with her winning journal.

I neglected to mention the iconic mustached man with the monocle as pictured below (from the Monsieur website). This character is featured on the back of each journal. If you didn't want one before, you probably do now, I  imagine.

I should note that Tom from Monsieur Notebooks emailed to clarify that with use, the notebooks will lie flat. Mine is just too new and not yet broken in. I should go write a few notes in my journal now. Excuse me...