In the past, correspondence was sealed by a wax seal. This seal served a dual purpose of providing a tamper-evident closure for the envelope and identifying the sender. These days, we have envelopes that close with lickable glue or self-sticking glue. The sender identification is provided by return address labels that are stuck in the upper-left corner of the envelope. These address labels can be generic in appearance, or you can purchase custom-printed labels. Custom-printed labels can have a small embellishment for your envelopes, and any small decoration is an advantage.
Most folks look forward to the arrival of the daily mail delivery. Even though the mailbox usually contains a dull collection of junk mail or bills, it often contains the treat of a catalog. Occasionally, however, our feelings of anticipation and suspense is rewarded with something personal, such as a greeting card or a travel postcard. We look forward to receiving such a gesture from a friend or loved one. These tokens of love and remembrance brighten our day more than any email message or phone call could ever do.
The old saying, “To have a friend, be a friend,” can be transformed into a new one that says, “To receive mail, send mail.” But beyond just a message that can be saved in your treasure box, a message can be made more memorable by making it beautiful as well as meaningful. Begin with the message inside. The simplest correspondence is a thoughtful hand-written note on simple, unadorned stationery. The next step up is letter paper with some adornment or small illustration that expresses the personality of the sender. If the paper is decorated, probably the envelope will be colored, too. The colored envelope stands out from the bills and junk mail as a harbinger of a fun time to come. Even more fun is a greeting card. Even if it’s just a simple thank you card, always, always write a short note to the person. Of course, we’ve all seen greeting cards with an envelope that is more brightly colored than any stationery envelope. These provide a truly festive spot in the mailbox. Getting back to address labels, now that you have a distinctive envelope for your distinctive personal message, decorate it further with a custom-printed address label.
Before we close the topic of personal mail, let’s consider the address on the front of the envelope. The United States Postal Service has published a set of rules for the mailing address on the envelope. The Service requests that the address be typed in all capital letters without any punctuation. The final line of the address should show the city, state, and ZIP code. The line above this should show the street address. If there is a suite or apartment number, these should be on the same line as the street address and not on a line below. Since it is difficult to read all capital letters in a typeface with serifs, it is better to use a sans-serif typeface such as Arial rather than one with serifs, such as Times New Roman.
