Seattletters – envelope contest

Made for John Neal Books envelope contest β€” gouache+sumi mixture and gouache mixture; Speedball “B” nib and a flexible pointed nib clipped to a tiny broad edge; envelope made from 80# Strathmore 400 Drawing paper.

 

Here’s my submission to the envelope contest that John Neal Books hosted in association with Seattletters.  The deadline was April 20. The gray lettering is a post I read in a calligraphy group on social media. I surrounded it with text from an 1888 article by A. J. Scarborough which had been posted in 2000 to the Cyberscribes discussion list.  I like the contrast in approaches πŸ™‚

I penciled baseline guidelines 2mm apart for the small lettering, making the x-height about 1mm. I clipped a pointed nib (a blue Esterbrook of some sort, I think) to make a tiny broad-edge nib. Seattleletters address is #5 Mitchell nib, I think.

After all that work, I couldn’t bear to send it through the US Mail unprotected, so I made another envelope, just ΒΌ” larger in each direction, to house the submission.