Must Have This: Correspondence

Fittingly, we begin this particular digital dialogue -about those things without which we might cease to function happily (if at all)- with an item that was, at one point, certainly Essential to the analog dialogues of yesteryear. The Post, that most ancient and storied method of communication, is, in the opinion of some, at it's best an inconvenience and at worst, a most excruciating and glacial process, best left to go the way of the Dodo and the 8track.

We, however, would argue otherwise.

In these days of emails and instant message, perhaps nothing should induce delight so much as a handwritten note, arrived by mail. Even a typed note, however cordial and heartfelt, lacks the charm and effort of it's handwritten counterpart. A note written in someone's own hand signifies a dedication of time, energy and thought that is currently in very much short supply, and deserves to be recognized as such.

'But, with my schedule full of travel, work, family commitments, and blogs to read, how on earth am I to find the time to write entire letters to people?' you ask. The answer is a very simple, very stylish (obviously) one: The Postcard.




The Postcard is the original text message. Of-the-moment and cheap, these handy cards keep your message short (but don't have a 140 character restriction) as well as tag the location you send them from (a la that number-square app).

Penguin has a set of 100 Postcards fashioned after titles held by that publisher. Packaged in a smart, sturdy little box (which tells, on the lid, the story of the distinctive Penguin cover), the postcards cover a vast array of titles- from the classic (A Room of One's Own, The Great Gatsby) to the banned (A Clockwork OrangeThe Catcher in the Rye), to the curious (Dangerous Curves, The Penguin Knitting Book which "includes patterns for over sixty garments"). Each is instantly evocative- whether the title itself, the cover, or the history of the work- and makes for a perfect vessel by which to drop someone any sort of message- a line, a threat, a greeting, etc. The list is clearly endless.

To order yourself this terribly fashionable set of cards, go here.

Post Script: There is one other thing you must have in order to send your postcard- stamps. Visit the USPS online or your nearest post office.