Letters to the Future Queen, Kate Middleton's Postman Delivers Mail without an Address

Imagine the future Kate as tender and tortured Queen of her castle. Decorated in pearls and ornate silk, bejeweled tiara atop an elaborate coiffure, taking her morning tea at some holdover gilded age writer’s table. Writing her daily letters shan’t be such a chore when she’s got someone to lick her envelopes, now, shall it?

True, the darling princess-to-be Kate Middleton has forevermore got it made, and as her local postman, Ryan Naylor, can attest, her world-wide popularity is burgeoning. Naylor has been hauling a "steady stream" of mail up the private drive to the home she shares with her family in rural Bucklebury, Berkshire ever since her November 16 engagement announcement to, the one equally adorable, Prince William.

Naylor, the postman, tells, "The post they've had is absolutely incredible, from all over the world. There are lots of well-wishers, sending cards and presents." Although the address remains a tightly kept secret, it is perfectly straightforward. When asked if trying 'Kate Middleton, Bucklebury' would work, "Absolutely right, and some of it's just addressed to Kate Middleton, England, but it still gets here, surprisingly,” he chuckles.

"There was one this morning to 'Mike and Carole Middleton, Parents of Catherine Middleton, Bucklebury, Berkshire," he says as he jumps into his red van and heads out again on his rounds. "I joked with them about it. I said, ‘Look, it still gets through! What a good postman you've got!" One wonders if he received his holiday gratuity.

Here, and only a few weeks ago, on January 9, Kate Middleton arrives for the wedding of the Honourable Sarah Louise Stourton and Harry Aubrey-Fletcher at St. Andrew’s Church in Aldborough, North Yorkshire. Ever-stylish is Kate with her smart sense of fashion; she wears a revolving door of fascinators. In no exception, here she is in a beautiful black structural beret or tilted pillbox with a long and lovely feather quill fascinator with most of the vane barbs removed. In keeping with our lovely theme of antique writing implements here at Art of the Letter, the quill of her hat reminds us of a bygone era when our writing utensils were borne of shaved quills.

Along with the beautiful fascinator, she wore a tailored Libelula velvet dress coat with silver clasp, plum colored shoes, matching clutch, and of course, Diana’s gorgeous rock.

The beautiful painting opening this post is entitled Princess Elizabeth in Prison at St. James' created by John Everett Millais. The poor little Princess Elizabeth (1635-1650), second daughter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, was confined in St. James' Palace by order of Parliament when the English Civil War began in 1642. Elizabeth is represented here in 1850, after half of her life imprisoned, composing her touching letter to Parliament in which she begs for her loved servants to remain with her and to be allowed to join her sister, the Princess of Orange. Her letter proved moving enough for the previous and most cruel policy to be reversed. She was transferred to Carisbrook Castle on the Isle of Wight, when her brother, future Charles II, landed in Scotland with a liberating army. Sadly, Princess Elizabeth died 8 days after her trasfer, being only 15 years old.

Along with other lost gems of the ages, a small explanation of this painting with a lovely poem written to Millais by a young student about Millais' Elizabeth is contained in this book: The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais: President of the Royal Academy, Volume 2.

Vols. 1 & 2 respectively, as follows:

Self portrait 1881 John Everett Millais (1829-1896)

Millais was a controversial and rebellious 19th century English painter and illustrator, and who does not love a little of the rebel? Known for his opposition to the modern methods of composition as taught in the art academies of the day, he was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Besides a bit of professional controversy over some of his paintings, he became a love magnet to Effie, the wife of his biggest outspoken supporter, social critic John Ruskin. Effie sought an annulment from her 6 year marriage to Ruskin, which turned up a salacious few tidbits about Ruskin himself in marriage annulment court, all feeding a tremendous scandal, a Victorian age "love triangle".

Listed on left is the book titled John Ruskin and Effie Gray: The story of John Ruskin, Effie Gray and John Everett Millais, told for the first time in their unpublished letters. There have been several dramatic features including films, plays, operas and radio programmes retelling the fascinating relationships of Millais, Ruskin and Effie. Further, a study of this this love triangle, of Effie & John Ruskin's unsatisfied marriage along with a study of its traumatic wedding night can be found in the book listed on right titled Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages.

Read more...

Drew Barrymore: Advocate for Old-Fashioned Correspondence

Drew Barrymore has a penchant for writing letters, and when it comes to corresponding, she eschews faster forms of conveyances in favor of the handwritten. She considers it more meaningful to pen a note, and insists people write letters to her instead of sending an email or other electronic communication.

In method preparations for her Golden Globe award-winning role in the 2009 HBO movie Grey Gardens, she isolated herself from all modern communicative technologies, and limited herself to letter writing as a way of entrenching herself into her vintage character, Little Edie Beale. Barrymore went into seclusion, “No contact with friends, no cell phones, no Black Berry, no newspapers, no magazines, no computers, no cars, no television. Nothing, for three months,” she said. "But she’d write,” said on-again, off-again boyfriend, Justin Long. Long tells of her creative letter writing, "She'd write beautiful, profound, poetic letters on a typewriter."

As for the subject of the letters, Drew revealed, "They were about my fears of not being able to pull this character off; this icon, and about learning a level of discipline… about facing your fears." Barrymore said the old-fashioned letters, which she wrote on an avocado green IBM Selectric typewriter, helped her work through her jitters about the part. "I had to understand what isolation was really like."

Even after the role ended, Drew explains "I still write letters. I don't want to communicate in a relationship via text and email. I love a letter. You are thoughtful when you write it, and someone can read it, and hold onto it, and go back to it. For me, there's something very dangerous to have everything so instantaneous."

The star of Grey Gardens has wishes for social betterment, where folks become more gracious and mindful of their manners. As in times past, people were polite and ceremonial in their conduct, and acted out of consideration. She longs for a resurgence of this courtesy and gallantry, “There's a part of me that misses the grace and formalities of the past," says Drew. "Like, when gentlemen wore hats and opened doors.” Although, she is not all old-school airs and elegance. “I love that now, we're not trying to pretend so much that everything is prim and proper,” laughs Drew. “I'd like to find a balance."


Both gorgeous photographs are of Drew Barrymore looking like an old-Hollywood, living vintage doll in an Alberta Ferretti gown, and a true vintage headpiece as she appeared at the Ziegfeld Theater, New York City premiere of Grey Gardens.

The exceedingly interesting characters of "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" are true-to-life socialites from an era past. Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale were the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The two women lived together at Grey Gardens, a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road, in the wealthy neighborhood of East Hampton, New York for decades with limited funds, resulting in squalor and almost total isolation. The home became the center of quite a scandal when it was revealed in 1973 that the reclusive aunt and cousin to Jackie O. were living in a state of poverty and filth.

Both the original documentary, and the modern HBO movie, are critically acclaimed, award winning, and gleamingly reviewed by viewers.

Read more...

National Card and Letter Writing Month

Spring is a time of hope and renewal, and the U.S. Postal Service has a message to everyone who needs to reinvigorate relationships or rekindle romance: “Touch them with a letter they can feel — and keep.”

April is National Card and Letter Writing Month.

To mark this special time of creative correspondence and the friendly exchange of passionate, poignant prose, the Postal Service is extending this popular campaign by carrying it over into May, culminating with the writing and sending of cards and letters for Mother’s Day, May 9.

“National Card and Letter Writing Month is an opportunity for all Americans to rediscover the timeless and very personal art of letter writing.  Both in times of peace and conflict, cards and letters are the most effective way to share and permanently record our thoughts, prayers, hopes and dreams.”
As quoted by Postmaster General John E. Potter.

Since the beginning of recorded history, famous people, have written letters that helped shape the destinies of entire nations. By putting their thoughts on paper, some of the most powerful figures of all time created memoirs that not only withstand the test of time but also serve as guidelines for today’s youth. This month, post offices across the country will be sponsoring a variety of projects with local libraries and schools to promote literacy while teaching students about the lasting importance of written correspondence.

Teachers may be interested in developing lessons on letter writing that also discuss the historical significance of many of the people, places and things honored on U.S. commemorative postage stamps. Background information on current stamps can be found in the Collector’s Corner at the Postal Store or at the American Philatelic Society.

Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day, it is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $66 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mail and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world.

• Courtesy United States Postal Service http://www.usps.com/
• http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2003/sr03_nclwm.pdf

Read more...

Recapturing the Lost Art of the Handwritten Letter

Even before Great-Grandfather was toddling years ago, the only way to communicate with far away family and friends was to create a handwritten letter and send it away en post. The letter was crafted to be deserving of its cost to create. The expense of paper, ink, envelope and postage were occasionally proven to be a hindrance to the communication of isolated families with their folks. US postage rates in 1792 were at 6 cents per one sheet letter to a recipient not exceeding 30 miles away. Prices then increased incrementally until one was paying 25 cents for single letters to go to recipients more than 400 miles away.

In 1850, farming wages are estimated to have been as low as a paltry $0.40 per day in some of the more depressed areas of the country. In such cases, when the family trade garnered so little income, the stipend for entertainment was simply nonexistent. Certainly, postage allotted for casual letters to family or friends was regarded as a luxury with a prohibitive price.

By 1851, the cost of posting a letter was lowered to 3 cents per ½ ounce and could be sent up to 3000 miles away. This proved more affordable, but still, on a farm income, which had the potential to be meager and infrequent, postage stamps, stationery, and supplies were not guaranteed sundries. On occasion, more affluent relatives would send writing supplies and postage to help ease the prohibitive costs, which would otherwise inhibit the flow of precious correspondence.

Current postal rates do not demand nearly as large a percentage of our daily income as they once had. Yet, the fierce competition the Internet has waged with the postal service has given consumers a considerable edge with regard to the speed of delivery of their communications, and “snail mail” has become the widely accepted offending slang term used for the current US postal service. Crafting a note and sending it via digital means is certainly faster than old fashioned habits, but letters received in such a manner are robbed of some of the most charming personal aspects that are present in a handwritten letter. The rewards of a personal letter in the mail box are innumerable, and sadly, those rewards are largely missing today.

Dear Readers,

The challenge is to recapture the lost art of the handwritten letter.

Sincerely,
Tracey Elaine

P.S. The image is of the first general issue United States 10 cent Postage stamp from July 1, 1847.

Read more...