The Art of Correspondence

‘Tis the season to check the mail! It’s lovely to open the mailbox and find brightly enveloped cards, holiday letters, family photos, etc. from the ones we love near and far.

When was the last time you wrote a letter? Digital communication has changed the way we correspond – arguably for the good. While things like e-cards and greetings on Facebook have made communication much more convenient, it’s nice to return to the heartwarming days of good paper, ink pens and postage stamps. Some of the most treasured artifacts of human society are pieces of paper correspondence from days long gone by.

This holiday season, we’ve put together a slide show in honor of the ancient art of correspondence; letters, cards, penmanship, holiday envelope seals, pieces of handmade art crafted with love and stamps from today and yesteryear. Please take a moment to enjoy these gems from the collection of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. If you like what you see, drop us a line! Happy holidays! -SMR



If you enjoy these handmade tidings, take a peek at the John Taylor Arms exhibition currently on view in the Kaufman Theatre Lobby - then take a look at some of the Christmas greeting created by John and Dorothy Taylor Arms here on our collection online. Search for
"Arms Christmas" to see them all.

Marley was dead, to begin with…

What better on a cold evening than to curl up with a classic tale of mystery and horror? Even the most cheerful holiday songs tell us “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories…” Spooky tales by the fire have been a winter’s tradition for time in memoriam, beginning as a Pagan tradition.  Over the centuries, the tradition has continued in many manifestations. Dickens visited upon Ebenezer Scrooge three spirits, the ghost of Hamlet’s father haunted the ramparts during Christmastide, J.M. Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson both spun ghostly winter yarns, and Poe – of course – sat his lonely characters before the fire on a midnight dreary. To continue this haunting tradition and as a nod to the on-going London Calling: Victorian Paintings from the Royal Holloway Collection, the Art/Books, Wine/Cheese Book Club will be reading the spine-tingling classic A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter. Please join us on Wednesday December 15 at 6:30pm to discuss the novella. Busy that evening? Drop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library Wednesday through Friday and leaf through favorite tales –scary and otherwise – by Charles Dickens, J. M. Barrie, Robert Louis Stevenson, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne and many more. Happy reading!

- SMR