My Personal Stationery

One of the most enduring Christmas gifts I received in 1982 was a beautiful pen and a box of personalized stationery.

Did I saw a box? I meant boxes. A lifetime supply, at least. Folding cards, personal-note-sized sheets, and matching envelopes to fit both. All in warm pink Crane paper, with my name embossed in white and the address in burgundy. A queenly gift, indeed. I learned later that it was arranged through David's art director, Curtis Parker, whose experience with paper quality and printers helped it all come together.

Naturally, since our home address was on everything, we moved in six months. But I refused to give up my beautiful paper. I insisted we find a way to keep it current. So...on the notepaper, we trimmed the address off. On the notecards, we printed a burgundy stripe across the top to cover it. But the envelopes were a problem. Finally, we decided to just buy new envelopes. Unfortunately, that particular shade of pink was no longer part of the Crane line, so we moved to white envelopes. Same paper, same size, white to match my embossed name. I absolutely love it and intend to use it forever.

And there is enough of it that I am confident I can.