Envelope Art

Dear Reader:

Does it seem that envelopes bearing letters have become bland and boring, subjected to dozens of rules and regulations by the postal service?

When my friends and I were in grade school in the '60s, envelopes became an extension of the letter itself, a place to scribble all kinds of wisdom and advice.

Occasionally, a friend would write, "Dear Mr. Postman, Why are you reading this when you should be delivering mail?"  A better question might be, who has time to deliver the mail when there's so much to read?

In my collection of letters, fabulously decorated envelopes are the icing on the cake, sometimes as sweet as the letters themselves.  In 1977, when these letters were mailed to me in Charlotte, NC, an artistic friend used envelopes as canvas, without fear that the postman would not deliver his epistles.

My friend Amy Bodian, who called everyone JT, often decorated both her letters and envelopes with animated figures drawn with just a few lines.

Sometimes friends just seem to get carried away with colors, or with stamps and stickers.

Whatever the inspiration, envelope art is in its own category - disposable, yes, but collectible too.  Like a phonographic record album cover, it's a hint of what's to come.  Envelope art invites us to enter and read, to engage and enjoy.  It's the cherry on top.

Do you have envelopes that you've saved because they're beautiful or intriguing or special?  Please consider sharing them with me and my readers.  Email me your favorites at lwatson(at)q.com.