A Recipe that Changed History- Broken Seals by Sune Christian Pedersen
This article is the beginning of a small serial – a real spy story. Or maybe rather the continuation of one as readers of MuseumsPosten in 2002 may remember the story about post controller Christian Christoffer Erlund (1673-1754) and his incredible faith in the years around the Great Nordic War. Erlund has become the object of a research project which has dug up new details about the foxy doings of the unscrupulous postal official. Here we present a small document about falsified seals.
From the middle of the 17th century the European postal services were transformed into regular spy centrals intercepting and opening all letters of political interest they could get hold of. If the letter writers found out that their letters had been opened, they would no doubt find new ways of communication – or they might even make a political scandal out of the case. Therefore it was important that the confidential postal officials could close the letters again so that no-one would suspect foul play; a difficult piece of work which often took place at night or under pressure of time. The mail had to be delivered and even the shortest delay might arouse suspicion from an alert recipient.
The seal was the decisive factor. Christian Erlund founded his great career in the postal service on his ability to perform the sly trick with letter and seal. His closest servants were also participating in the difficult task. Most of the times they got away with it without anybody noticing anything, and Erlund was consequently able to deliver hundreds of intercepted letters or copies of letters to the king. Nevertheless, rumours circulated that the Copenhagen Post Office was not safe. E.g. in 1717 Erlund could (probably with some contentment) inform the king in one of his reports from intercepted letters; this time a letter from French consul Hansen in Elsinore to a French diplomat in Copenhagen named Poussin: "Then he [Hansen] asks Poussin to carefully observe the letters he receives as Hansen had sensed that all letters from him addressed to Poussin had been broken open here [at Copenhagen Post Office]. And even if Poussin could not feel or see it on the envelopes, he should, however, rest assured that it happened nevertheless, since it was a well-known fact that they were able to do it so well that nobody could see or feel it".
The Secret Technique
How did they do it? Erlund is extremely secretive on this point and reveals nothing about it in his autobiography. Experiments with secret techniques of falsifying seals were made everywhere. Engravers specialized in copying seals so that nobody could see that they had been tampered with. Elsewhere casts of seals were made which could be kept and used for later forgery.
Among Erlund's posthumous papers there is a small document in German, undated and without sender, titled: "Wie ein Siegel nach zu machen" – "how to copy a seal". It is impossible to determine where Erlund got it from. We do not know. However, this peculiar paper throws an unusually clear light on an otherwise obscure practise.
"You Take…"
The document contains three small recipes of chemical substances that can be used for making casts of seals. The first recipe reads: "You let brimstone melt and when liquid, you throw shredded powder of white lead into it. Put this paste on the seal: It must, however, be wrapped, either in paper or in wax with chalk, and then you can take an impression of it. And when it has cooled down again, you have the signet of such a seal".
Another recipe is based on the sediment of a solution of among other things vinegar, vitriol, and ink which is stirred with mercury and pressed onto the seal whereupon it hardens in the open air so that the signet becomes almost as hard as metal. The third recipe is founded on parboiling of metals (among others mercury) which harden when cooled down enabling a cast of the seal. It was indeed an unhealthy business to falsify seals at the Copenhagen Post Office!
It must also have been a slow affair which required access to a well-supplied pharmacy and quite some space, discretely, of course. The latter was available, in particular when the letter post office was fitted up in Erlund’s own house in 1713. On the other hand the method had the advantage that it was suitable for "mass production" once the "paste" had been prepared. And once a cast had been made, it was there for future use. When an old acquaintance as e.g. the Frenchman Poussin wrote, it was relatively simple to remove his seal quickly, copy the letter, and then make a new seal by means of a previous cast.
The capacity of the postal service to open and close letters secretly was very useful to the king. The postal service kept Denmark informed about the diplomatic negotiations of Sweden and other Great Powers on the European scene, and on several occasions they succeeded in capturing foreign spies in Denmark.
The story about Erlund and his servants continues ...
Seals and sealing were already known in antiquity. Seals on orders and contracts made them valid in law and endowed them with the authority of the sovereign. In the Middle Ages private persons (nobility and clergymen) began to use their own seals on their letters and the seals got the additional function of sealing, a symbol of the secrecy of the mails, and a very practical measure in order to see whether a letter had been read by unauthorized persons. Before the envelope was introduced, the seal was used for closing the folded letter.
Abuse and falsification of seals also date back to the Middle Ages. Legal documents could be forged and it was possible to cheat in cases concerning offices or ownership if you had access to a royal stamp. Or you could falsify the seal by scraping it off the document with a heated knife as the seals were made of wax at that time. If you had a document provided with a seal, you could cheat by trying to wipe the document clean and simply write a new one with the genuine seal on.
The falsified stamp required a metal cast or an engraving, but in the Middle Ages cast stamps almost always turned out smaller and blurred, often with tiny blisters in the metal. The falsifications became more difficult when a French merchant in the 1620’s started to sell sticks of sealing lacquer. These often perfumed sticks soon became popular among letter-writing maids of honour. Before long, lacquer sealing became standard and the lacquer was considerably more difficult to deal with than the previous wax. The secret opening and closing of letters soon became a mere science.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
LETTER SEALS
What is a seal?
A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure, or an embossed figure in paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document, but the term can also mean any device for making such impressions or embossments, essentially being a mould that has the mirror image of the figure in counter-relief, such as mounted on rings known as signet rings. This article is concerned with devices and methods for making such imprints.
If the imprint is made as a relief resulting from the greater pressure on the paper where the high parts of the seal touch, the seal is known as a dry seal; in all other cases a liquid or liquified medium (such as ink or wax) is used, usually in another color than the paper's.
Sigillography is the term used for the study of seals.
Impression
Wax seal on an envelope
Pine resin seal on vellum tag or tail of an English deed dated 1638.
The use of seals, in wax, in lacquer or embossed on paper, to authenticate documents, is a practice as old as writing itself. Seals of this nature were applied directly to the face of the document or attached to the document by cords in the owner's, or to a narrow strip of the document sliced and folded down as a tail but not detached from the document. This helped maintain authenticity by not allowing the reuse of the seal. If a forger tried to remove the seal in the first case, it would break. In the other cases, although the forger could remove the seal intact by ripping the cords from the paper, he would still have to separate the cords to attach it to another document, which would destroy the seal as well because the cords had knots tied in them inside the wax seal. Most governments still attach seals to letters patent. While many instruments required seals for validity (i.e. the deed or covenant) it is rather uncommon for private citizens to use seals anymore.
Seals were also applied to letters and parcels to indicate whether or not the item had been opened since the seal was applied. Seals were used both to seal the item to prevent tampering, as well as to provide proof that the item was actually from the sender and is not a forgery. To seal a letter, for example, a letter writer would compose the letter, fold it over, pour wax over the joint formed by the top of the page of paper, and then impress a ring, metal stamp, or other device. Governments would often send letters to citizens under the governmental seal for their eyes only. These were called letters secret. Seals are no longer commonly used in this way, except for ceremonial purposes.
Ancient Near East
Ring stone from Zafar showing a torah shrine
Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of considerable interest in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia seals were engraved on cylinders, which could be rolled to create an impression on clay e.g., as a label on a consignment of trade goods. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings of kings have been found.
Recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic (Yitsḥaq bar Ḥanina) and engraved in reverse so as to be visible in the impression.
In the Indus Valley Civilization, rectangular seals were used to label trade goods and also had other purposes.
Ancient Aegean
From the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Dark Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan Age these were formed of soft stone and ivory and show particular characteristic forms. By the Middle Minoan Age a new set for seal forms, motifs and materials appear. Hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the time par excellence of the lense-shaped seal and the seal ring.
East Asia
A Baiwen name seal, read up-down-right-left: Ye Hao Min Yin (lit. "Seal of Ye Haomin")
Known as 印章 (Pinyin: yin4zhang1) in China, dojang or ingam in Korea and inkan or hanko in Japan, ink seals have been used in East Asia as a form of written identification since the invention of writing. Even in modern times, seals are still commonly used instead of handwritten signatures to authenticate official documents or financial transactions. Both individuals and organizations have official seals, and they often have multiple seals in different sizes and styles for different situations. East Asian seals usually bear the name of the person or organization represented, but they can also bear a poem or a personal motto. Sometimes both types of seals, or one large seal that bears a name and a motto, are used to authenticate official documents. Seals are so important in East Asia that foreigners who frequently conduct business there also commission the engraving of a personal seal.
East Asian seals are carved from a variety of hard materials, including wood, soapstone, seaglass and jade. East Asian seals are traditionally used with a red oil-based paste consisting of finely ground cinnabar, which contrasts with the black ink traditionally used for the ink brush. Red chemical inks are more commonly used in modern times for sealing documents. Seal engraving is considered a form of calligraphy in East Asia. Like ink brush calligraphy, there are several styles of engraving. Some engraving styles emulate calligraphy styles, but many styles are so highly stylized that the characters represented on the seal are difficult for untrained readers to identify. Seal engravers are considered artists, and in the past, several famous calligraphers also became famous as engravers. Some seals, carved by famous engravers, or owned by famous artists or political leaders, have become valuable as works of art and history.
Because seals are commissioned by individuals and carved by artists, every seal is unique, and engravers often personalize the seals they create. The material of seal and the style of the engraving are typically matched to the personality of the owner. Seals can be traditional or modern, conservative or expressive. Seals are sometimes carved with a figure on the owner's zodiac animal on the top of the seal. Seals are also sometimes carved with images or calligraphy on the sides.
Although it is a utilitarian instrument of daily business in East Asia, Westerners and other non-Asians seldom see Asian seals except on Asian paintings and works of calligraphy. All traditional paintings in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the rest of East Asia are watercolor paintings on silk, paper, or some other surface that the red ink from seals can adhere to. East Asian paintings often bear multiple seals, including one or two seals from the artist, and the seals from the owners of the painting.
East Asian seals are the predecessors to block printing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(device)
A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure, or an embossed figure in paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document, but the term can also mean any device for making such impressions or embossments, essentially being a mould that has the mirror image of the figure in counter-relief, such as mounted on rings known as signet rings. This article is concerned with devices and methods for making such imprints.
If the imprint is made as a relief resulting from the greater pressure on the paper where the high parts of the seal touch, the seal is known as a dry seal; in all other cases a liquid or liquified medium (such as ink or wax) is used, usually in another color than the paper's.
Sigillography is the term used for the study of seals.
Impression
Wax seal on an envelope
Pine resin seal on vellum tag or tail of an English deed dated 1638.
The use of seals, in wax, in lacquer or embossed on paper, to authenticate documents, is a practice as old as writing itself. Seals of this nature were applied directly to the face of the document or attached to the document by cords in the owner's, or to a narrow strip of the document sliced and folded down as a tail but not detached from the document. This helped maintain authenticity by not allowing the reuse of the seal. If a forger tried to remove the seal in the first case, it would break. In the other cases, although the forger could remove the seal intact by ripping the cords from the paper, he would still have to separate the cords to attach it to another document, which would destroy the seal as well because the cords had knots tied in them inside the wax seal. Most governments still attach seals to letters patent. While many instruments required seals for validity (i.e. the deed or covenant) it is rather uncommon for private citizens to use seals anymore.
Seals were also applied to letters and parcels to indicate whether or not the item had been opened since the seal was applied. Seals were used both to seal the item to prevent tampering, as well as to provide proof that the item was actually from the sender and is not a forgery. To seal a letter, for example, a letter writer would compose the letter, fold it over, pour wax over the joint formed by the top of the page of paper, and then impress a ring, metal stamp, or other device. Governments would often send letters to citizens under the governmental seal for their eyes only. These were called letters secret. Seals are no longer commonly used in this way, except for ceremonial purposes.
Ancient Near East
Ring stone from Zafar showing a torah shrine
Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of considerable interest in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia seals were engraved on cylinders, which could be rolled to create an impression on clay e.g., as a label on a consignment of trade goods. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings of kings have been found.
Recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic (Yitsḥaq bar Ḥanina) and engraved in reverse so as to be visible in the impression.
In the Indus Valley Civilization, rectangular seals were used to label trade goods and also had other purposes.
Ancient Aegean
From the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Dark Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan Age these were formed of soft stone and ivory and show particular characteristic forms. By the Middle Minoan Age a new set for seal forms, motifs and materials appear. Hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the time par excellence of the lense-shaped seal and the seal ring.
East Asia
A Baiwen name seal, read up-down-right-left: Ye Hao Min Yin (lit. "Seal of Ye Haomin")
Known as 印章 (Pinyin: yin4zhang1) in China, dojang or ingam in Korea and inkan or hanko in Japan, ink seals have been used in East Asia as a form of written identification since the invention of writing. Even in modern times, seals are still commonly used instead of handwritten signatures to authenticate official documents or financial transactions. Both individuals and organizations have official seals, and they often have multiple seals in different sizes and styles for different situations. East Asian seals usually bear the name of the person or organization represented, but they can also bear a poem or a personal motto. Sometimes both types of seals, or one large seal that bears a name and a motto, are used to authenticate official documents. Seals are so important in East Asia that foreigners who frequently conduct business there also commission the engraving of a personal seal.
East Asian seals are carved from a variety of hard materials, including wood, soapstone, seaglass and jade. East Asian seals are traditionally used with a red oil-based paste consisting of finely ground cinnabar, which contrasts with the black ink traditionally used for the ink brush. Red chemical inks are more commonly used in modern times for sealing documents. Seal engraving is considered a form of calligraphy in East Asia. Like ink brush calligraphy, there are several styles of engraving. Some engraving styles emulate calligraphy styles, but many styles are so highly stylized that the characters represented on the seal are difficult for untrained readers to identify. Seal engravers are considered artists, and in the past, several famous calligraphers also became famous as engravers. Some seals, carved by famous engravers, or owned by famous artists or political leaders, have become valuable as works of art and history.
Because seals are commissioned by individuals and carved by artists, every seal is unique, and engravers often personalize the seals they create. The material of seal and the style of the engraving are typically matched to the personality of the owner. Seals can be traditional or modern, conservative or expressive. Seals are sometimes carved with a figure on the owner's zodiac animal on the top of the seal. Seals are also sometimes carved with images or calligraphy on the sides.
Although it is a utilitarian instrument of daily business in East Asia, Westerners and other non-Asians seldom see Asian seals except on Asian paintings and works of calligraphy. All traditional paintings in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the rest of East Asia are watercolor paintings on silk, paper, or some other surface that the red ink from seals can adhere to. East Asian paintings often bear multiple seals, including one or two seals from the artist, and the seals from the owners of the painting.
East Asian seals are the predecessors to block printing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(device)
LETTER WRITING IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
Letter Writing
Fragments of friendship, made by women in the Victorian Era, used their ingenuity and clever hands to fashion objects to give away including the letters they so carefully wrote. Many would take care to turn an ordinary envelope into a work of art with illustrations and or painted script, and even addresses rendered with intricate pin pricks. And Sealing wax was a favorite way to protect the contents of the envelope.
There were suitors known as faint-hearted lovers who couldn't muster a proposal. According to The Lover's Casket, an etiquette book that strictly covered courting techniques, had indeed said that the suitor could write his proposal by letter if he could not bring himself to say the words.
The Lovers Letter Writer, a popular 19th-century English manual, supplied the answers to correct letter writing. Covering love, courtship, marriage, friendship, relationships and business. In all, there were 66 examples. The samples covered every conceivable social need along with a handy formula for a cryptogram meant to be read between the lines.
This example of a cryptogram was headed Female Ingenuity and was used by a newly married young lady who was obliged to show her husband all the letters she wrote.
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend; blest as I am in the matrimonial state, unless I pour into your friendly bosom, which has ever been in unison with mine, the various sensations which swell with the liveliest emotions of pleasure, my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear husband is the most amiable of men. I have now been married seven weeks, and have found the least reason to repent the day that joined us. My husband is in person and manners far from resembling ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous monsters, who think by confining to secure a wife; it is his maxim to treat, as a bosom friend and confidant, and not as a plaything or menial slave, the woman chosen to be his companion. Neither party, he says should always obey implicitly; but each yield to the other by turns.
The letter's message was:
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend, unless I pour into your friendly bosom, the various sensations which swell my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear I have now been married seven weeks, and repent the day that joined us. My husband is ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous. It is his maxim to treat as a plaything or menial slave; the woman he says, should always obey implicitly.
Another sample is to be used by a lady in answer to a letter in which her suitor intimates his wish to discontinue acquaintance. A lady should permit a suitor to withdraw, but not without having the last word.
Sir:
I acknowledge the receipt of your last letter, which now lies before me, and in which you convey the intimation, that the position which, for some time past we have regarded each other, must henceforth be abandoned. Until the receipt of this letter, I had regarded you in the light of my future husband; you were, therefore, as you have reason to know, so completely the possessor of my affections, that I looked with indifference upon every other suitor. The remembrance of you never failed to give a fresh zest to the pleasures of life, and you were in my thoughts at the very moment in which I received your letter.
But deem me not so devoid of proper pride as to wish you to revoke your determination, from which I will not attempt to dissuade you, whether you may have made it in coll deliberation, or in precipitate haste. Sir, I shall endeavor to banish you from my affections, as readily and completely as you have banished me; and all that I shall now require from you is this, that you will return to me whatever letters you may have of mine, and which I may have written under a foolish confidence in your attachment, and when you were accredited as the future husband of,
Sir, Yours as may be, Henrietta Allston
"Please never stop writing me letters-they always manage to make me feel like my higher self," poet Elizabeth Bishop once implored a friend." In this age of electronic correspondence, letter writing is much more personal or romantic than convenient email. And in an age that valued sentiment and friendship, creating souvenirs to be exchanged was part of the ceremony and the excitement, a reminder forever of the beauty found in the circle of love and friendship.
Find a quiet corner, your very own private domain. "I have everything I need…a page, a pen, and memory raining down on me in sleeves," wrote Harriet Doerr. Take up a clean page and write, but pay close attention to details, no scribbling here please. Calligraphy has always been a form of expressive handwriting. No matter which style you choose, remember that it's not just what you write, but how it is written.
The page itself may be decorated, or plain parchment will do. Get creative. Let your inner self decide what would be a proper expression of your feelings. Perhaps a pink satin ribbon weaved up along one side, through incisions in the page, and tied with a bow towards the top will do. Or by chance you've found the perfect commercial stationary to express your feelings.
And don't forget about the envelope. One shouldn't go to the trouble of creating a beautiful and or sentiment correspondence without considering the envelope. Have it match the stationary or have it stand on it's own. Maybe it could be something as simple as a satin ribbon threaded through slits on the flap and tied in a bow. Or decorate using rubber stamps.
You may decide to ensure the safety of your sentiment by using sealing wax on the flap. I find it best to heat the wax in a spoon and drip the wax onto the flap of the envelope.
No matter who you take the time to write-it is the thoughtful touch that makes your written message seem all the more sincere.
Scented Ink
Blend approximately 100 drops of essential oil (suggested oils are rose or lavender) with a teaspoon of vodka.
Add the mixture, a little at a time, to 2 ounces of ink (deep colors work best).
Stir and ready to use.
"Oh! nature's noblest gift--my grey goose quill; Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will. Torn from thy parent bird to form a pen. That mighty instrument of little men!" --Byron
"Write to me a letter etched by Sunday morning sunlight, centered in a room where returning robins sing of the sea-swung palms and beaches of Florida. Your chosen words will glint beyond their stony use and point to the history we sense in night, that lore drunk on nocturnal breezes (the polyphony of sleep) when cricket chords mesmerize wall shadows stretched tight from your feet until they forget to be faithful to your body. When your letter arrives, I will memorize your words, rendering your syntax so finely all will be forgotten except your dancing beyond the ink-stains, a game of pretend really, as if you were always in this room." --James Pate
http://home.kendra.com/victorianrituals/Victor/letter.htm
Fragments of friendship, made by women in the Victorian Era, used their ingenuity and clever hands to fashion objects to give away including the letters they so carefully wrote. Many would take care to turn an ordinary envelope into a work of art with illustrations and or painted script, and even addresses rendered with intricate pin pricks. And Sealing wax was a favorite way to protect the contents of the envelope.
There were suitors known as faint-hearted lovers who couldn't muster a proposal. According to The Lover's Casket, an etiquette book that strictly covered courting techniques, had indeed said that the suitor could write his proposal by letter if he could not bring himself to say the words.
The Lovers Letter Writer, a popular 19th-century English manual, supplied the answers to correct letter writing. Covering love, courtship, marriage, friendship, relationships and business. In all, there were 66 examples. The samples covered every conceivable social need along with a handy formula for a cryptogram meant to be read between the lines.
This example of a cryptogram was headed Female Ingenuity and was used by a newly married young lady who was obliged to show her husband all the letters she wrote.
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend; blest as I am in the matrimonial state, unless I pour into your friendly bosom, which has ever been in unison with mine, the various sensations which swell with the liveliest emotions of pleasure, my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear husband is the most amiable of men. I have now been married seven weeks, and have found the least reason to repent the day that joined us. My husband is in person and manners far from resembling ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous monsters, who think by confining to secure a wife; it is his maxim to treat, as a bosom friend and confidant, and not as a plaything or menial slave, the woman chosen to be his companion. Neither party, he says should always obey implicitly; but each yield to the other by turns.
The letter's message was:
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend, unless I pour into your friendly bosom, the various sensations which swell my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear I have now been married seven weeks, and repent the day that joined us. My husband is ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous. It is his maxim to treat as a plaything or menial slave; the woman he says, should always obey implicitly.
Another sample is to be used by a lady in answer to a letter in which her suitor intimates his wish to discontinue acquaintance. A lady should permit a suitor to withdraw, but not without having the last word.
Sir:
I acknowledge the receipt of your last letter, which now lies before me, and in which you convey the intimation, that the position which, for some time past we have regarded each other, must henceforth be abandoned. Until the receipt of this letter, I had regarded you in the light of my future husband; you were, therefore, as you have reason to know, so completely the possessor of my affections, that I looked with indifference upon every other suitor. The remembrance of you never failed to give a fresh zest to the pleasures of life, and you were in my thoughts at the very moment in which I received your letter.
But deem me not so devoid of proper pride as to wish you to revoke your determination, from which I will not attempt to dissuade you, whether you may have made it in coll deliberation, or in precipitate haste. Sir, I shall endeavor to banish you from my affections, as readily and completely as you have banished me; and all that I shall now require from you is this, that you will return to me whatever letters you may have of mine, and which I may have written under a foolish confidence in your attachment, and when you were accredited as the future husband of,
Sir, Yours as may be, Henrietta Allston
"Please never stop writing me letters-they always manage to make me feel like my higher self," poet Elizabeth Bishop once implored a friend." In this age of electronic correspondence, letter writing is much more personal or romantic than convenient email. And in an age that valued sentiment and friendship, creating souvenirs to be exchanged was part of the ceremony and the excitement, a reminder forever of the beauty found in the circle of love and friendship.
Find a quiet corner, your very own private domain. "I have everything I need…a page, a pen, and memory raining down on me in sleeves," wrote Harriet Doerr. Take up a clean page and write, but pay close attention to details, no scribbling here please. Calligraphy has always been a form of expressive handwriting. No matter which style you choose, remember that it's not just what you write, but how it is written.
The page itself may be decorated, or plain parchment will do. Get creative. Let your inner self decide what would be a proper expression of your feelings. Perhaps a pink satin ribbon weaved up along one side, through incisions in the page, and tied with a bow towards the top will do. Or by chance you've found the perfect commercial stationary to express your feelings.
And don't forget about the envelope. One shouldn't go to the trouble of creating a beautiful and or sentiment correspondence without considering the envelope. Have it match the stationary or have it stand on it's own. Maybe it could be something as simple as a satin ribbon threaded through slits on the flap and tied in a bow. Or decorate using rubber stamps.
You may decide to ensure the safety of your sentiment by using sealing wax on the flap. I find it best to heat the wax in a spoon and drip the wax onto the flap of the envelope.
No matter who you take the time to write-it is the thoughtful touch that makes your written message seem all the more sincere.
Scented Ink
Blend approximately 100 drops of essential oil (suggested oils are rose or lavender) with a teaspoon of vodka.
Add the mixture, a little at a time, to 2 ounces of ink (deep colors work best).
Stir and ready to use.
"Oh! nature's noblest gift--my grey goose quill; Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will. Torn from thy parent bird to form a pen. That mighty instrument of little men!" --Byron
"Write to me a letter etched by Sunday morning sunlight, centered in a room where returning robins sing of the sea-swung palms and beaches of Florida. Your chosen words will glint beyond their stony use and point to the history we sense in night, that lore drunk on nocturnal breezes (the polyphony of sleep) when cricket chords mesmerize wall shadows stretched tight from your feet until they forget to be faithful to your body. When your letter arrives, I will memorize your words, rendering your syntax so finely all will be forgotten except your dancing beyond the ink-stains, a game of pretend really, as if you were always in this room." --James Pate
http://home.kendra.com/victorianrituals/Victor/letter.htm
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
LETTER PAINTINGS BY VERMEER
A GIRL READING AN OPEN LETTER BY AN OPEN WINDOW
"Vermeer's genius was in probing those moments in life when one feels alone and immersed in one's thoughts. His are essentially private works, invitations to pause and partake of the quiet intimacy of the scene. Almost as in poetry, he suggests moods and attitudes in his figures that are recognizable yet not precisely defined. In this painting a girl stands in a corner of a room before an open window, her thoughts are totally absorbed in the letter she is reading. The walls, curtains, and table define the physical limits of her space; the reflection of her image in the glass emphasizes the inner nature of her thoughts. Her world is still."
Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Jan Vermeer, 1981
Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Jan Vermeer, 1981
THE LOVE LETTER
We are looking in at an apparently quiet scene where the maid delivers a letter to her mistress, but in fact the painting is a boiling emotional turmoil: the mistress is in love with one who is not her husband, and the maid knows all about it. The two are exchanging glances even before the letter is opened: each knows that it is the sender, not the contents, which is significant. Vermeer exploited this theme elsewhere, in Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. The curtain and the containing walls make us feel like spies, watching a private moment.
On the floor next to the mistress is a laundry basket and some embroidery work, and in the doorway is a broom, representing her neglected wifely duties. Instead, the mistress has been playing music, a symbol for thoughts of love. Behind her is a painting of boats moving fast before a wind, with an open sky in view, representing her state of mind; next to her is a fireplace, symbolizing the passion of love, and painted thereon is a lion rampant -- her lover, the letter writer.
The composition is based on contrast between foreground and background, to concentrate our attention on the figures. The foreground is dark, softly painted, and somewhat indistinct, while the background is well-lit and precisely delineated. This later Vermeer shows an elegant, perhaps opulent interior, in comparison to the more sparse rooms of the earlier paintings. The mistress is dressed in the ermine-fringed yellow outfit in which so many of Vermeer's women are dressed.
A LADY WRITINGCritic Mariett Westermann points out that in 17th c. there was a sudden and unprecedented increase in first person statements in the Dutch Republic. Private diaries, journals, soul-searching poems, private letters and not the least, self portraits were avidly practiced. Reading and writing have in common the capacity of independent though associated with not only men but for the first time with the women who pose in Vermeer’s painting. Letters in Dutch genre painting, featuring both men and women reading and writing them, were often associated with love. Vermeer most likely drew this theme, as usual, from the well established iconographic tradition. The artist seems to have been alert to the appearance of a new type of woman, better educated than her predecessors and more absorbed in her interior life. Letter writing had also an important practical role in the mercantile Dutch Republic which had expanded itself commercially to the four corners of the world. An efficient postal system for local mail had developed in those times with standard fairs and delivery schedules.
This still life painting of a foreshortened viol da gmaba by an anonymous artist may have been the one in Vermeer’s death inventory described as a ‘a bass viol with skull’. The skulll is not a visible due, perhaps, to the poor state of conservation of this area of Vermeer’s composition. Such still-lifes were part of a momento mori or vanitas tradition popular in the 17th c. Netherlands. Vermeer may have intended it as an admonition on the young woman’s vain and flighty pastime: letter writing. Critic Peter Sutton states that the tradition of letters being associated with vanity and transitory pleasure was well established in the genre painting of the time. However, the self—aware smile of the young letter writer and the profoundly serene atmosphere which pervades this picture seems to be at odds with such an interpretation. Vermeer included at least two other paintings in his own compositions that most likely belonged to his mother-in-law Maria Thins, a procuress by Baburen and a Roman Charity by the same.
there is a whole genre in dutch paintings dedicated to letter writing. more information on his paintings available at: http://www.essentialvermeer.com/index.html
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WRITNG INSTRUMENTS
a concised simple timeline of the history of writing instruments. for more info read: http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa100197.htm
WHO INVENTED WRITING?
Writing emerged in many different cultures and in numerous locations throughout the ancient world. It was not the creation of any one people. However, the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia are credited with inventing the earliest form of writing, which appeared ca. 3500B.C. The clay tablets shown on the left date from around 3200 B.C. They were unearthed by Oriental Institute archaeologists at the site of Tell Asmar in Iraq.
The writings on these tablets are simple pictures, or pictograms, which represent an object or an idea. Because clay is a difficult material on which to draw lines and curves, the Mesopotamians eventually reduced pictograms into a series of wedge-shaped signs that they pressed into clay with a reed stylus. This wedge-shaped writing is called cuneiform.The invention of writing was the dawn of the information revolution. This great technological advance allowed news and ideas to be carried to distant places without having to rely on a messenger's memory. Like all inventions, writing emerged because there was a need for it. In Mesopotamia, it was developed as a record-keeping vehicle for commercial transactions or administrative procedures. There are also texts that served as "copy books" for the education of future scribes. Eventually, cuneiform script was used to produce some of the greatest literary works in recorded history.
source:http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/html/british_museum_27.htmlCuneiform tablet containing a letter from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III. writing letters have existed since ancient times and it is a pity that it is a dying practice in today's world.
soon after through the ages, the alphabet was born.Wednesday, January 14, 2009
THE HANDWRITTEN LETTER
the handwritten letter is my chosen subject.
it is apparent to me that the handwritten letter is a dying practice and it is because of the advancement of technology that allows us to communicate via phone, an email or a text message. it is also ironic that i am here typing away on my computer while attemping to talk about the hand written letter.
first and foremost, i made a mind map just to get a rough giude on how wide my topic might be and i can say that it is wide. swaying from the creation of hieroglyphics, writing tools, delivery methods, etiquette, customs, love and even the dead.
here is just an overview of what i have researched so far and not yet cosolidated in words. some questions to ask ourselves, who actually invented writing letters and when did it even started?
ARCHIVE FEVER
project1:
archive fever
how do we accumulate and gather around a
specific topic? one of the greatest and most
constant challenges of a designer is representing
research through objects, images,
documents — in classifying and systematizing
an archive as a means to expressing and
developing the poetics of the individual’s
viewpoint. the personal archive is a link
between the individual design practice and
the larger context of our visual and cultural
legacy. this project includes the development
of the initial idea through a personal
collection or set of objects, documents,
images, etc., which must conform the graphic
designer’s statement.
archive fever
how do we accumulate and gather around a
specific topic? one of the greatest and most
constant challenges of a designer is representing
research through objects, images,
documents — in classifying and systematizing
an archive as a means to expressing and
developing the poetics of the individual’s
viewpoint. the personal archive is a link
between the individual design practice and
the larger context of our visual and cultural
legacy. this project includes the development
of the initial idea through a personal
collection or set of objects, documents,
images, etc., which must conform the graphic
designer’s statement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)