Stationery Etiquette Mystery Needs Solving

My post yesterday, noting that even Twitter Wizard Ashton Kutcher uses personal stationery when the message is meaningful, has a short postscript noting the practice of crossing through one's name when writing a very personal note.

Here's an example from the slide show at Details Magazine showing congratulatory notes on their 10th anniversary:

I had never heard of this custom until queried by a writer recently. I have heard second- and third-hand that this is an indication that the note is of the most personal and respectful nature. I went to my go-to source - Google - and for once it was no help.

So, please help me and stationery-lovers everywhere learn the details of this custom. Original sources are welcome, as are stories from your childhood.

4.6 Million Twitter Followers, but Personal Stationery Makes The Lasting Impression

I was at the dentist's office today waiting for my appointment and leafing through the latest issue of Details Magazine. This is the magazine's 10th anniversary and one of the pages features a few congratulatory notes.

Last year, I pointed out that one of the icons of digital communication and social media - Facebook - turned to paper and fine letterpress printing to thank its advertisers. Here's a link to that beautiful presentation.

Back to the dentist's office and the magazine. I was very pleased to see who had written the first note on the page, as it provides further evidence of the power of the pen and fine stationery:

 

You will recall Ashton's recent race to the top of the Twitter world. Today, he has more Twitter followers than anyone in the world - 4.6 million!

But as you can see from the above, even Ashton Kutcher uses personalized stationery when the message is meant to be meaningful. It obviously was meaningful to Details. Other notes on the page are written by Jason Bateman, Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew McConoughey and, yes, even Adam Lambert.

Here's a link to a slide show of a couple of dozen congratulatory notes on personalized stationery. I imagine you will recognize a name or two.

P.S. In a few of the notes, you will see the person's name struck through at the top. That is to indicate the note is of the most personal nature.

With best regards,

Peter

P.P.S. I have no idea if these notes are on Crane stationery. It's none of my business one way or the other.

The Power of a Personal Note

Try this at home some time.

You come home from work and on your way into the house, you open the mailbox. Inside is a U-shaped bunch of paper which you already know isn’t worth your time other than to deposit in the recycling box.

But there in the middle of the soon-to-be post-consumer content is something that catches your eye. It stands out visually and commands your immediate attention. (1)

Then it stands out palpably, as you take it out of the box and admire its feel and appearance. (2)

Into the house you go, shrugging off your jacket and putting aside all the accoutrements of a day’s work. You pick it up and give it a closer inspection. (3)

Then it’s off to find an appropriate implement to open it because you know there’s something special inside. (4)

You open it, much like you would a gift, and read. (5) Then you place it in a careful spot.

There’s lots to be done this evening, just like any other evening in your busy life. But it draws you back. Maybe you’re having a glass of wine; maybe you’ve finally got dinner in the oven. It’s still there, right where you put it. You read it again. (6)

I wrote you that note. It took me only a few minutes.

In the span of perhaps an hour, I’ve brought your life to a screeching halt six times. And during those moments, you’ve done nothing but think about me.

New Personalized Stationery! WooHoo!

I'm just now putting the final touches on a new video to demonstrate the many intricacies of engraving and thermographic printing on Crane stationery. In the very near future, I'll post it to the web so you all can see it. For the video, I needed to follow a piece of stationery from beginning to end, and because I just happened to be in the market for some new Crane stationery, the answer became clear!


I've designed hundreds of pieces of stationery for members of the media, for TV shows, magazine layouts, celebrities and movies. But designing one's own, what with all those options from which to chose, can be daunting. For some reason, I recalled some stationery I had designed several years ago for Gordon Elliot, who at the time was hosting a show called The Genuine Article on the Fine Living Channel and doing a piece on Crane stationery. I really liked that particular design and so decided to adopt it for my own.
Here is the finished product:





I selected Gordon's typeface: Chevalier – a font I have used several times to create stationery for men. It just seems to make a fairly manly statement. Here's a close-up look

72 dpi just doesn't do the fine-line detail of this font justice, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Chevalier was designed by Emil Alfred Neukomm of the Swiss design firm Hass in 1946. Chevalier is a set of shaded capitals and figures that Linotype deems “ideal for business cards and classical letterheads.” I don't disagree, but I like its presentation on a No. 3 correspondence card with Regent Blue ink with a hand-brushed Regent Blue border. I had the envelopes lined in Regent as well.

If you think Chevalier might be for you, but want to take it for a test drive before committing to personalized stationery, have a look at these thank-you notes that come pre-engraved.

Now it's time to stop typing and start writing.