Vintage* Pen Tray

As I was studying this summer, I de-stressed from time to time by engaging in a little retail therapy. Among the pen related items I purchased was this fantastic vintage pen tray. The seller advertised the tray as an authentic lacquered piece with gold accents from the early 1800s.

In years gone by, before the age of the fountain pen, when dip pens were the primary writing tool, writers needed a place to put their pens to prevent ink from getting all over their table, blotter, or writing surface. Their solution: the pen tray.

It was typical of finer pen trays to have arms, or a small rack, protruding from the tray [example 1, example 2] to hold the pen above the tray's surface, to avoid getting ink all over the pen. My tray doesn't have this feature, so it's possible [example 3] that it was not originally intended as a pen tray at all. It is possible that my little tray was instead used as a calling card tray - to present visitor's cards to the lady of the house holding visiting hours in her parlor [example 4]. Then again, it's possible that this tray just isn't authentic at all.

While the tray certainly is lacquered, and it does have some wear and tear, it's unclear to me whether it is faux vintage or authentic vintage. It would be neat if the tray actually were 200-ish years old, but I'm not going to put many eggs in that wishful basket. Oh well, whether it's an authentic piece from the turn of the 19th century or a great buy from TJ Maxx, I still can't wait to display it on my future desk.

Traveling Mail Art Journal

Things I love: personal correspondence and art. The incredible synthesis: traveling mail art journal!

Many many months ago, Bianca from Goodnight Little Spoon put out word that she was starting a traveling journal. Each recipient was to create 2-4 pages, with the only creative boundary being that the content had to be postally related.

I signed up immediately and was, I think, eighth on the list of journal recipients. Months passed and I eventually forgot that I was scheduled to receive the journal. But then, one day I got a package in the mail - not recalling any recent online purchases, I opened the package with suspicion. Well, wasn't I surprised to find the journal within!

I spent the next several hours having a great time combing through all the fantastic mail art contained therein. People in the online mail enthusiast community are sooo creative. Many participants included personal messages, or mail to be read by all future recipients. The above picture of a mystery message left in the journal by Tejal at All-My-Hues.

The creative bar was set incredibly high, and I took some time to gather materials to create my pages. After two days of twiddling my thumbs, I decided that I had to just start putting things on the paper. Above are my first two journal pages.

I included on the left page: the front cover of one of my favorite card sets, the priority mail stickers from the package that the journal came to me in, and some imagery from National Postal Museum flyers. On the right page: more National Postal Museum imagery, a hotel stationery envelope from a Washington, DC hotel, DC-ish vintage stamps, a snail mail stamp, and a collection of wax seals that include seals from envelopes sent to me by some of my wonderful pen pals.

I did do a third page, but I wanted to keep it specially for future mail journal recipients.

Fan Mail

I'm back! It's been a long summer, but I think it was worth it. I took the Maryland bar exam at the end of July, and then took a two week vacation in Minnesota to visit my family and friends. While staying at my parents' home, I decided to rummage around in their storage unit to see what sort childhood memories I could uncover. And sure enough, I found a couple of gems.

This is my very first eBay purchase, a Royal Portable typewriter! I bought this machine over 10 years ago, placed it on a shelf, and then never used it. I'm so ashamed. To make it up to myself and the typewriter, I took it to Vale Typewriter in Minneapolis where Rich, the proprietor, was able to clean, scrub, and oil the Royal back into premier shape. There are still spots of rust, but Rich says that their spread should be halted by keeping them oiled. Here's to hoping.

In addition to my vintage typewriter, I found a small cache of comic books. I was absolutely thrilled.

As a middle schooler, I collected Green Lantern comics, and I had a few issues of independent titles, including the above pictured 3 Geeks comic. I totally related to the book, it was about a group of guys that hung out at a comic book shop, unabashed by their geekness. The guy that worked the shop counter was named Colonel, and the guy that manned the counter at Uncle Sven's Comic Shoppe in Saint Paul where I hung out was also named Colonel! It was as though I had no choice in buying the comic.

I'm writing about 3 Geeks here on Everyday Correspondence because, wouldn't you know it, the premise of issue 5 is about writing letters to comic book authors and artists. In virtually every printed comic there is a page or two at the end of each book dedicated to the mail bag, where fan letters are printed and the author of the book responds. While I've never written a fan letter to a comic, I'm lead to believe that having your letter printed is the ultimate honor for a fanboy (or fangirl).

Well, having come upon both a typewriter and 3 Geeks issue 5 in my parents' storage unit, I felt compelled to write my first ever comic fan letter to the creator of 3 Geeks. While I doubt that my letter will be printed, I take satisfaction in giving a creator appreciative feedback for his work.

Have you ever written a fan letter to an author or artist? Have they ever written back? Have you had your letter printed in a comic book?

Everyday Correspondence and PNT in the News!

Last week I was contacted by Matt Frassica, a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal, who was writing an article on e-mail etiquette, and was impressed by PNT's guest series on valedictions. Long story short, I put PNT (real name Preston Thomas) in touch with Frassica - and a story was born!

In the article, Preston is catapulted to the same plane as etiquette authorities Peter Post, grandson of Emily Post, and author Will Schwalble. Out of all those interviewed, however, Preston is the only one who gives a good challenge to the status quo - and for that I applaud him. For example, Frassica writes that:

Thomas said that "Thanks" owed its pre-eminence in business correspondence to laziness and a pack mentality."

If you break the norm, you seem like the odd man out," he said. "Maybe the solution is just to grow a spine, put some thought into it and actually pick a word" that fits the situation, he said.

For additional quotational gems, you may read the full article available on the newspaper's website.

And since they're topical, here are links to past Everyday Correspondence posts on epistolary etiquette, valedictions, and Emily Post.

A Summer Break

Dear Readers,

To you I offer my apologies, I have gone almost six weeks without a post and no explanation as to why. As some of you may recall, I am (or rather was) in law school. This year, the month of May brought me not only my usual final exam period, but my last final exam, period!

I graduated from law school on May 28 and have been feverishly studying for the bar exam ever since, an exercise that requires an incredible amount of time. That is why I have not had the time, or the content necessary, to update Everyday Correspondence. The bar exam is the last week of July, after which I plan on taking a two week vacation to sunny Minnesota. So, while I may publish a post every couple of weeks, it is my sincere intent to return to Everyday Correspondence with my previous level of dedication sometime this August. I hope you'll all drop by for a visit.

Me with Deb Kinney, after she fine tuned a couple of troublesome nibs, at the Triangle Pen Show.
As you can see, I'm a very satisfied customer.

In an unrelated note, I attended the Triangle Pen Show in Cary, North Carolina a few weekends ago and had an amazing time! I'd like to give shout outs to the helpful seller Fred Martinson, the informative pencil master Joe, the Chilton guru Hirsch Davis, the humorous Tom Mullane, the deal maker Alan Hirsch, and nibmeister Deb Kinney. Each of these individuals proved to be great resources for pen history and information, as well as wonderful people from whom to buy. I recommend them all to people interested in pens as writing tools and/or objects for collecting. If you're interested in what a pen show experience is like, I recommend Richard Binder's series of posts, A Virtual Pen Show.

May you all have a magnificent summer, I will see you in the Fall!

Very truly yours,

James