TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 2, 2022 Author Share Posted July 2, 2022 5 hours ago, BillyBones said: Not sure where they are at but when my grandmother passed she had a huge stack of letters in those airmail envelopes Hopefully you find them someday! That would be cool to go back an read through your family’s letters! 4 hours ago, Frosty said: I don't get many letters Wait till I get my awesome new stationary and I’ll mail you some chicken scratch! Lol 4 hours ago, Nodebt said: It was pathetic pushing that load out into the dumpster. I used to have to clean out storage units of people that didn’t pay their rent, I always felt bad dumping truckloads of family documents, photo albums ect… 4 hours ago, Anachronist58 said: Had a package sit in the Post Office for 15 days I love watching tracking numbers an trying to understand why something bounces back an fourth across the whole country when it was already in a distribution center close by, 4 hours ago, arkie said: How many of you remember the old fountain pens I’ve never actually used one ive just seen them in pictures and for sale, I guess the plastic pens are more my speed anyways lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 My father had beautiful italic handwriting and used a Mont Blanc Diplomat Meisterstück 149: My mom has a large collection of a couple dozen boxes of family documents from her grandfather’s time as a missionary in Alaska; we’ve just been having a discussion of her donating it to the archives of the Episcopal Church to make it available to researchers and historians. He and my great-grandmother were engaged for seven years, so there were a lot of letters going back and forth between Alaska and Vermont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 Boy howdy that’s one fancy lookin writing instrument John! seven years is a long time to be away from home I imagine there’s quite a few letters in those boxes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 It's not just between the two of them; Grandpa John was a prolific letter-writer, reporting back to his superiors with great frequency and also to everyone who donated to fund the mission. (There's a great story that some folks back home decided to purchase a sawmill for the mission and shipped it to him by train, coastal steamer, and riverboat. While it was on the steamer, a passenger noted the crates lined up on the desk and asked the captain about them. On hearing what they were and where they were destined, the passenger asked if anyone at the mission knew how to use them. The captain replied, "Well, the padre there is a Vermont boy, and he'll figure it out!") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 (edited) TW, the Shire Post Mint over at West Fork AR was selling seals & Stuff, Commercial link removed (Google it). I don't know if they are still running their "Hobbit post office" though. Edited July 5, 2022 by Mod30 Remove commercial link per TOS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 The Shire Post Mint is absolutely amazing. TP, thanks for posting the link. I wasn't aware that a place like that existed in little out-of-the-way West Fork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 Thomas i forgot about them! isnt that the friend you help find a fly press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 I like the hot glue gun for wax! I don't know what I'd seal though. Very cool site, thanks for the link. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Yes it is my friend who went from sword making into minting by way of me sourcing his first screwpress. They are neat people and very much a family business. It was originally set up in Springdale AR then moved to their new building in Westfork AR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 So I went to the post office to mail some packages today and buy some stamps for my stationary that’s supposed to be here sometime today I asked the lady at the post office if the wax stamp would ad enough weight that I would need an additional stamp, she told me that a single stamp covers a one ounce letter and that a wax stamp more then likely would not get anywhere close to going over weight, but for every ounce over one ounce a $.20cents would be required the $.20 cent stamp is the one you use for postcards normally Then she said that sometimes the wax stamps won’t go through the sorting machines and they gotta sort em by hand, in that case it would be a $.20 cent charge so she advised me to get both a sheet of the regular stamps as well as a sheet of the $.20 cent stamps so I got both just to be safe, that way I don’t have to worry about the postal service returning letters I tried to send, On the USPS website I saw even cheaper stamps for just a few cents a piece, Its my understanding they are for adding additional post freight charges to stamps that predate the forever stamps so there y’all go! everything boring that y’all never needed to know about stamps on letters! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Fun fact: the technical term for the study of seals (whether wax, clay, lead, or anything else) is sigillography. Also, edicts from the Pope used to be issued with round seals in lead. The term for these was bulla, from the Latin word for something round or globular; this is why such an edict is now referred to as a "papal bull". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Find a sheet of these, Billy, and you won't be bored for long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 That’s pretty cool John! I’ve never heard of that before, correction on my previous statement, the post card stamps are $.40 cents not $.20 cents, Scott, I saw a remake of those on the usps site, but they are really expensive, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 1 hour ago, JHCC said: the study of seals (whether wax, clay, lead, or anything else) is sigillography. Not to be confused with pinnipediology, which is the study of seals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 Hmm I don’t think the lady at the post office would appreciate me bringing a seal into the post office, she’d probably charge me extra postage for the bucket of fish too… Lol i just looked up the study of postage stamps, according to wiki it’s called Philately… seen any good stamps philately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 Mail finally ran a little over an hour ago, just got the new stuff in, I practiced twice on another envelope before sealing my first letter, It’s gonna take a little more practice with the candle, judging how Much wax to use, it burns really slow an I was afraid of the wax cooling before I stamped it, but I’d like to see a ring all around the stamp, Other then that I thing stamp works really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Missed center by II that much. The Seal's I know won't let you study them. Seal Team 6 members... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Those are cool looking candles in themselves. Think you casts a spell when you use them? Hmmm, maybe they make the mail go to the right place in time. Going to wax poetic about your seal buddies Randy? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Nope, Tommy the team member I knew was KIA Afghanistan 8/6/2011 when a CH-47 Chinook he was in was shot down. May he RIP he done good. https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/navy-special-warfare-operator-senior-chief-petty-officer-seal-thomas-a-ratzlaff/6567908 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 May he RIP, I'll say a few words with higher in thanks for his sacrifice. I'd offer a salute but I didn't serve. Is it appropriate to offer a salute to military personnel? I won't offer disrespect, unknowing or not, ever. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 I only got to go on two operations with seals when I was in the navy, i didn’t get to know them very closely but from my short time I spent with them I can say they are a pretty cool bunch of guys, we hauled some of them around during operation unified response in Haiti back in 09 after the quake, and those dudes are pretty awesome to work with, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 TW, I don't think they were always perfect. Watched this a while ago. Your wax stamp reminded me of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 23 minutes ago, Frosty said: Is it appropriate to offer a salute to military personnel? Yes although not the traditional salute. The right hand is placed over the heart then moved away. Similar to when saluting the flag when the National Anthem is played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 1 hour ago, Daswulf said: Watched this a while ago. Your wax stamp reminded me of That’s pretty awesome Das!! I didn’t know people used to fold their letter into an envelope! also I didn’t know the wax was made from shellac, that makes sense because I was thinking these candles were acting really weird acting when I lit them, almost like melting plastic, but I just figured they were some kinda weird wax, thank your for sharing that video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 No problem TW. Glad to share. Townsends have a ton of interesting videoson various topics of earlier times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.