A desk book on the etiquette of social stationery

Social
Stationer]

ilifornia

;ional

Llity

HEWITT'S BOOK STORE

t17 PINE AVENUE
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

A DESK BOOK ON THE
ETIQUETTE OF

SOCIAL STATIONERY

BT

JEAN WILDE CLARK

EATON, CRANE AND PIKE COMPANY

NEW YORK PITTSFIELD, MASS.

Copyright 1910
by Eaton, Crane and Pike Company

Price, $1.00

CONTENTS

Etiquette of Stationery, 1

Monograms, 7

The Letter on the Desk, 17

Special Letters, 27

The Formal Invitation, 37

Weddings, 44

Card Etiquette, 60

You and Your Writing Paper, 71

Index, 87

A Complete Wedding Invitation and

A Diagram of Sizes of Writing Papers and Envelopes

in Pocket inside back cover

2101178

ETIQUETTE OF STATIONERY

/\ WOMAN is known by the stationery she uses. „„ ,,
Paper talks. We read between the lines, along of the
the margin, and across the envelope, the story
of good or bad taste which speaks in tone, tex-
ture and design.

It's the paper on the desk, not the desk, or
the handwrought paper weight, which gives side
lights to character and marks the fair scribe as
genuine, distinctive, charming or the reverse.

The absent button and the misconnected belt /^ Reading
line talk loudly of their owner, but the rustle of the
of her note paper is still more potent. aper

A woman's stationery opens up a new field
to the student of human nature.

One reads the ultra person in the bright blue
correspondent, and the careless disregard to
daintiness in the page of poorest texture which
takes the writing like a blotting pad. Again
the modish woman, tasteful and with well-bred

[1]

Fads and
Fashions

Stationery
Standards

The Paper

on the

Desk

SOCIAL STATIONERY

charm, trips across the surface of a fabric-
finished page toned to softest pearl or ivory,
while she of strength and enterprise speaks
quickly from the heavy masculine sheet and
envelope.

Fashions in stationery rise and fall, differ and
turn as do the curves of milady's hat brim.
The seasons are marked by many changes in
texture, shape and size, often within the realm of
good taste, but the fads and fancies of the mo-
ment, which run to exaggerated tone and design,
are shunned by the woman of refinement.

This little book aims at the best in stationery.
Within its pages one may cull many authentic
informants, who quote of social usage and the
gentle art of etiquette.

The paper on the desk is our first consider-
ation. Three sizes — Lucile, Stockton and
Winthrop — are at milady's disposal for social
correspondence; for men, the Gladstone, Curzon
and Signet sizes. All these and other sizes are
shown on the diagrams in the pocket inside of
back cover.

[2]

ETIQUETTE OF STATIONERY

The smaller of the three sheets (Lucile)
claims notes of a few lines only, congratulations,
regrets, and condolences.

The second size (Stockton) is for all social
notes, the informal invitations, or the hasty
line which requires little space.

The third or letter size (Winthrop) is, as
implied, for general correspondence, for the
good talking letter to one's dearest friend, and
because of its manifold uses should be kept on
hand in double quantity.

A high authority states :

"There is one fashion which has never
changed — the most perfect of all styles — good,
plain, thick, white note paper, folded square and
put in a square envelope. ' '

On the other hand, we have the word of an
equally eminent stationer, who declares that
"The people will have what they want. "

Many women of excellent taste select one
style of stationery, and regardless of existing
modes hold to it for years. This is distinctive,
but a glance at the charming varieties of the

[3]

First Size

Second Size

Third Size

Selection

SOCIAL STATIONERY

stationer's art tempts one to endless modifica-
tions, and the trial of one's own ingenuity in
motif, monogram and inscription.
Newest '^ie newes^ papers show a fabric finish such
Papers as CRANE'S LINEN LAWN. Two others, popular
for a slightly rough surface, are CRANE'S FINE
CHAIN LAID and CRANE'S DISTAFF LINEN.

The color of these papers is that white which
is known as DRESDEN WHITE.

These papers are smooth to the pen and firm,
without any gloss, and they are to be had in
two thicknesses.

Notwithstanding the fact that the fabric-
finished papers are more popular and there-
fore more fashionable, many people prefer the
smooth-surface papers, from which there is an
equally good choice. Among them might be
mentioned CRANE'S KID FINISH, CRANE'S EARLY
ENGLISH and CRANE'S SATIN FINISH. CRANE'S
BOND is best liked by those who pi'efer paper
of a light weight and is especially popular for
foreign correspondence on account of its
strength and excellent character.

[4]

ETIQUETTE OF STATIONERY

Envelopes vary in size and shape and follow
no strict rule. A new design is large and almost
square, and there are matching sizes for the
smaller sheets.

The oblong envelope is, however, considered
more generally correct, although a square one in
medium size is always in good taste.

The thin-lining envelope of contrasting or
darker tone is a late fancy. This idea originated
for foreign mail and the transparent envelope,
but has been taken up generally by stationers
with extremely pleasing results.

Many of these linings are quite distinct from
the envelope proper, closing separately with a
narrow fold. The contents are thus doubly
secure, and the writing concealed.

Violet is a favorite tone for the lining envel-
opes, combining well with the palest shades of
gray or champagne. Two tones of blue are also
good, and a russet lining with an ecru paper
is most attractive.

In decoration, one may also choose from
many modish forms. For instance, the tiny

Envelopes

Envelope
Linings

SOCIAL STATIONERY

r, , Italian border of color, iust lining the edge of
Forms of

Decoration sheet and fold of envelope, is most attractive.
Daybreak Pink or Baltique Blue with a small
monogram in self-tone is in pleasing taste, the
monogram appearing again on the envelope if
not obtrusive.

Quarter-inch borders of a darker shade than
the paper are set a half-inch inside the edge.
The pastel colors are extremely dainty treated
in this way.

All these variations from the simple
unglazed white note sheet in its square-cut
envelope are, although quite correct, entirely
a matter of individual taste and but hints for
the interested. There is no better or higher
form, however, than the kid-finished paper,
unruled, unglazed, of firmest texture and show-
ing but a tiny crest or unobtrusive monogram.

[6]

MONOGRAMS

IViONOGRAMS play a most important part
in the ethics of stationery.

Motifs, emblems and symbols once used so
universally for distinction of class and indi-
vidual, have in the evolution of time and race
dwindled into general disuse. These are not
the days of emblazoned walls and iron-wrought
hangings. The armored knight who bore his
color and his crest aloft for recognition is a
shadowed memory put away with the fashion
of king since the year '76.

Still, we Americans enjoy a touch of distinc- T,

Democratic

tion which, lost to us through democracy, Crest
becomes the cult of individualism, the seal of
ownership, the mark of belonging. This fond-
ness takes form in name marking in the cipher
motif and the graceful monogram.

A striking monogram, combining the first
letters of the full name or the first and last

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Original
Monograms

Designing the
Monogram

name is an enviable possession. A woman finds
many schemes for its use in the marking of her
underwear, table linen, etc., but its touch upon
her stationery holds the greatest charm and
gains her the credentials of the gently bred.

One cannot urge too strongly the necessity
for originality and unusualness in monogram
conceits. The stereotyped designs of twisted
letters, which are cheaply procurable at the
stationery counters, do not lend that mark of
personality which is distinctive.

Often one hits upon a clever trick of letter
twining with a little pencil practice, and finds
the work most interesting as well.

A favorite flower form turned to develop a
unique device is at once a personal insignia,
and with the monogram stands for what may
be called the ' ' democratic crest. ' '

The designer well versed in this work com-
bines the letters so that each stands out clearly

[8]

MONOGRAMS

.

and is easily deciphered at a glance. Curling
lines and waves which mean nothing, but only
deceive the eyes, are never found in the best
examples.

The simpler conception shows the better
workmanship, and too strong coloring or high
gilding is in doubtful taste.

Among the present modes one notices the
long monogram in rather common use. This
is set at the upper left corner of note and letter
paper, and may be embossed in three tones of
one color, or in single gold or silver. Again, the
drop letter monogram occupies about the same
space, and is most attractive in three tones.

A square effect, the letters in color on a
block of gold, or the lines of the device turned
to form a square, are among the best designs.

The place of stamping is optional and de-
pends largely on individual taste, but the full
line of paper should show the same marking, a

[9 ]

Present
Forms

Placing the
Monogram

SOCIAL STATIONERY

smaller die being often cut for the first size
sheets or place cards.

37 flroapert Street
Summit, JQ.3T.

Center or side stamping is a matter of taste,
the center being perhaps the most used. If
the envelope is marked, the monogram should
match the paper exactly in tone and placing.

SOUTH ISLAND
ALEXANDRIA BAY, >f.Y.

A striking example is a note paper of heavy
white with narrowest coral border. The small
monogram in gold and coral is set at the ex-
treme left of paper heading and envelope fold.
Setting the monogram on the fourth page
is, although rather extreme, still used by the
best stationers.

A N Id ^ new ^ea *s ^° se^ ^e mon°gram across the

center of the fourth page. The paper is then

[10]

MONOGRAMS

turned and the writing continued the length
of the open sheet. The note is not folded in
the ordinary way, but from side to side of the
closed sheet, and the envelope is of necessity
long and narrow.

A copy of one's signature, or better still, the
first letters of the name, forms a pretty conceit
for a page heading, but should only be used for
personal correspondence.

The hostess at her country house sends the H p
informal invitation for a week's end on the
second size note sheet, which bears a tiny line
of directions along the upper left margin and
the name of her house or the township at the
right, thus:

Telephone-922 The MANOR

Express— Dayton Station View Point, Connecticut

Telegraph— Dayton

R. R. Station— Dayton, Conn.

Post Office— View Point, Conn.

[HI

SOCIAL STATIONERY

This helps many a guest along a strange way
and saves the busy hostess the writing of minute
directions. Letter paper, showing the house

3^0 Wt&t Jiftp*ct&!)tl) Street
address at upper right or center, is very good

TWENTY WEST FORTY-NINTH STREET

form. It may be used by any member of the
household, or a guest, but the hostess chooses
her monogramed sheets for her personal letters.
p. , Pictured papers are a foreign importation
Paper and are not in favored use in America ; still a
tiny view of one's country house or a sketch
which bears out the name, as ' 'Red Oaks, ' ' is
permissible and entirely a matter of taste. The
design must be small and set at the center of
the sheet. It is carried out either as a water-
color sketch, or stamped in single tone of gold,
green, dull red or blue.

MONOGRAMS

The raised water stamping or embossed
effect is simply attractive. The best taste for
men's stationery is the unadorned plain square
folded sheet of white paper ; still this unobtru-
sive white stamping for crest or tiny monogram
is quite permissible.

Tablets of good size and quality are some-
times monogramed in the upper left corner,
the single sheet folding once and again into an

<_svtrJ.

[13]

White
Stamping

Monogramed
Tablets

Place Card
Actual Size
3|xll

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Place Cards

Place Card
Actual Size

oblong envelope. This idea may be used by a
business woman, while the single note sheet,
with a small square envelope, is also a novelty
for the few lines.

Monogramed place cards are a pleasing inno-
vation and almost a necessity to the woman
who entertains. A heavy gilt-edged card is used
with the monogram in gold at the left. The
guest's name is written on the card.

Again, the hostess may use the color scheme
[14]

MONOGRAMS

of her table in the marking of her place cards,
or substitute them for tallies by attaching a
tiny pencil in the color of the monogram. A
plain white card monogramed in Christmas red
or green with a written word of greeting, makes
a pretty, new accompaniment to a gift, and
carries a decided touch of personality. The use
of these cards at any season for a thought to
a friend cannot fail to be appreciated.

The best papers of the season, such as „

Correspond-

CRANE'S LINEN LAWN in shades of Daybreak ence Cards
Pink, Willow Green and Orchid, show match-
ing correspondence cards, which exactly fit the
envelope and like the paper are bordered with
a narrow darker line. These take charmingly
to monograming and are a convenience for the
note of a few lines. The marking may be in
the darker shade or in silver — silver stamping
having a decided vogue this season.

[15]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Book Marks Book-marks are a novelty and lend them-
selves most readily to all forms of monogram
and personal insignia. Their mission is to
protect one's property, and they are pasted on
the inner cover of one's books to designate
ownership. Here fancy may run riot in the
conception of designs which carry the touch of
individuality.

[16]

THE LETTER ON THE DESK

V_y NE MAY acquire the art of letter- writing.
Few possess it. A glance down the page of a fair
example of our correspondence finds it studded
with personal "I's" and filled with household
groans.

The letter which is a joyous thing, bringing j^ Letter
with it a subtle touch of the sender, and convey- We Look for
ing the sense of a personal chat, is the one we
seek at the postman's ring. Many clever, fluent
talkers become incoherent at the touch of ink.
They cannot put themselves on paper and the
non-expressive, disappointing type of letter is
the result.

The rigid rules of school-day letter-writing
one must needs unlearn in the world's class-
room. We have no space for shaded pothooks
in the characterized hand which we soon assume
after our copy-book graduation. One's chirog-
raphy may be clear, unique and distinctive, but

[17]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

it is what we write, not how we write, that
counts.

G , The good letter is first well spelled and
Letter readable, without doubts of ending g's and
uncrossed t's. It is direct and clear, void of
rambling sentences which require dissecting at
the page end, and lastly, it is a personal pen
picture — bringing the sender quickly to the
mind's eye, and drawing the cords of friendship
close.

Remember that friends, even the best of
them, although interested in you and yours,
care little to read four well-filled pages of do-
mestic news. The departing cook, the teething
baby and the food one's husband cannot eat,
are not all-absorbing topics to the recipient,
and unless of a serious nature, should be left
out, or touched on only in a humorous way.
It's an interesting little study in possibilities
to put down the serious version (to oneself) of
a household problem, and then convert the
same situation into jest form. It creates that
touch of buoyancy which can show a laugh for

[18]

THE LETTER ON THE DESK

a tear, and excites the broad smile of amuse-
ment. It may be just the needed change in the
point of view which helps the other woman
through a weary day. Try it and see how
quickly such a letter is answered.

And speaking of answering, how many of us
really do it ? We catch up a sheet of paper,
cover it with our own absorbing doings, add a
hurried line of health inquiry and send it out.
Yes, it is worth just about the price of the
two-cent stamp, attached with a crooked slant
into the envelope corner.

Read over the letter to be answered before
you begin to write. It is a notable help and
lends many a clue to an interesting line. Bits
of news from the doings of mutual friends may
be introduced, and the mention or criticism of
new books is often an appreciated word to the
friend who may not be able to keep in touch
with the world's latest accomplishments.

Forms of address are governed by a few well-
made laws. In America, My dear is considered
more formal than Dear, the opposite being the

[19]

Answering
the Letter

Forms of
Address

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Formal
Address

Addressing
the President

case abroad. Good breeding directs following
the custom of the country in which one resides.
The delightfully talkative letter to one's friend
and equal may not be headed at all, but assume
the charming tone of a continued conversation,
as: / am thinking, dear, how much I want to
see you.

A slight acquaintance is addressed as My dear
Mr. Willis, and titles should not be abbreviated
to Prof, or Dr. ; My dear Doctor is the proper
form, while Doc. is the height of vulgarity.

Dear Miss, omitting the name, is equally bad
form, but Dear Madam may be used in address-
ing a woman in the most formal terms.

The President is addressed formally as Sir.
The envelope reads :

The President

Executive Mansion

Washington, D. C.

The Vice-President is addressed as Sir, or

Mr. Vice-President,
Sir:

[20]

THE LETTER ON THE DESK

A Senator, Congressman, Mayor or Judge genatora
has the prefix Honorable, as

Hon. James F. Smith
A letter is addressed

The Honorable James F. Smith
Dear Sir :

A Governor is addressed as Excellency and
Sir. A Bishop in the United States is Most
Reverend Sir.

In addressing a Protestant Minister one uses
Dear Mr. Irving, and the envelope reads

The Rev. John F. Irving

The letters D.D. are added if Mr. Irving is
a doctor of divinity. The envelope may also be
addressed to

Reverend Dr. John F. Irving

No form of speech is so incorrectly used as
[21]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Use of the *he third person. It is only needed in the most
Third Person formal correspondence, or in the answering of
an invitation, but when used in the opening
sentence, it must continue to the end, and re-
main unsigned.

Occasionally we meet such blunders as :

Mrs. John Brown returns the coat purchased
yesterday from Smith & Co. I do not like the
color.

The note should be couched in the first
person throughout, and bear Mrs. Brown's
signature, or should read :

Mrs. John Brown returns the coat purchased
yesterday from Smith & Co., the color being
unsatisfactory.

In the lower left corner Mrs. Brown's address
is written, if it does not appear on the paper
heading.

The telephone, telegraph and cable have
done much to obliterate correspondence. We
shorten our lines in these hurried times to note

THE LETTER ON THE DESK

size, although no suspicion of haste must show
in the wording.

Under no consideration is a type-written ™ T d
letter permissible in social usage. Letter

A business letter, however, may be typed
and bears the subscription of name and ad-
dress thus :

Mrs. C. F. Fowler

288 Madison Avenue

New York
Dear Madam :

Such a letter closes with Yours very truly,
and is signed, not typed, with the signature of
the sender, or the name of the business firm.

Many married women use their title incor- ^ natures
rectly. A woman does not use initials, or the
superscription Mrs. in social correspondence;
she signs herself:

Dorothy Hudson Black

If the letter is of a business nature, or the
person to whom she writes may not know her

[23]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

husband's name, she adds her married title in
brackets beneath, thus :

Dorothy Hudson Black
(Mrs. Charles S. Black)

An unmarried woman writes ( Miss) in paren-
theses when addressing a stranger to distinguish
her from a widow. Writing the title of Mrs. is
not permissible on a woman's checks, letters or
notes, or in fact at all, except when registering
at a hotel, or of necessity on a card, should
she happen to be without one of her own, or
when writing to a servant.

The wife of a doctor is simply Mrs. Charles
Brown, and has no claim to title unless she has
gained it individually.

Professional Professional women use their titles as do men .
Women A practicing woman physician is addressed
professionally as :

Dr. Mary T. Jones

A divorced woman is addressed as Mrs. , not
[24]

THE LETTER ON THE DESK

Miss, even when she has resumed her maiden
name. Should she retain her husband's name,
she adds her own surname with her Christian
name, thus:

Eleanor Stewart Smith
(Mrs. Eleanor Stewart Smith)

One uses Cordially yours, or Yours very
sincerely, in closing letters and notes. It is
extremely bad form to omit the word yours in
either social or business letter endings. Yours
very truly is the approved business form.

Taste and judgment must govern the order
of pages. Beginning on the first, turning to
the last, and then finishing across the third and
second is practical, as the first is turned on the
blotter, while the fourth is in progress.

Notes are usually begun on the first and ended
on the fourth page, but a formal note or invi-
tation should cover but the first page, and not
lengthen to a second.

A note of extreme intimacy may be written
inside the sheet from second to third pages.

[25]

Closing the
Letter

Order of
Pages

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Fold™ ^ne ktter must be folded evenly to fit the

envelope. Using a mismatched envelope is
unpardonable, and is classed with the ruled
paper and the half sheet.

If extra space is needed to finish the letter, an
entire new sheet must be used, even when only
a few words are inscribed.

A letter whose margin and heading space is
filled in with parting scrawls has a decidedly
ill-bred appearance, and needs a chart of direc-
tions as well.

An even margin allowed at the left of the
page is attractively neat, but often forgotten.
j. Addressed or monogramed paper is some-

what marred if dated at the head of the page.
The date is therefore added after the signature,
at the lower left corner and is more elegant if
not abbreviated.

An address should be written: 236 Fifth
Avenue.

Dates and numbers may be shown in figures,
on business letters, but quantities are fully
written.

[26]

SPECIAL LETTERS

IT IS extremely bad form to ask for a letter of The Letter of
introduction in the social world. Such letters Introduction
should be the spontaneous prompting of a
friend, unbidden. If you can make two people
acquainted who are equally well known to you,
who are sure to enjoy each other or who may
gain mutual benefit from each other, it is
charmingly courteous to offer the introductory
note.

Eccentricities, failings or personalities should
not be touched upon, and only the kindly
phrase be used which may pave the way for the
stranger, or open a social door. The friend who
bears the note should know under what terms
she is introduced, and it is a pretty courtesy
to read the contents, or ask to have it read.
The letter of introduction may follow this form,
and can hardly be too cordial in tone :

[27]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

DEAR FLORENCE:

This will introduce to you Miss Louise
Smith of Philadelphia, whose praises I have so
often sung. Miss Smith will be in your charm-
ing city for a few weeks, and I am so fond of
you both that it delights me to have you meet.

With loving thoughts for you and all the
family circle, BETTY

The Address The envelope is addressed to the person to
whom the introduction is made, not the bearer,
and is, of course, unsealed, as is any message
sent by friendly hand.

, ,. The bearer has two ways of delivery. She may

Presentation J J

either leave the letter in person with her visiting
card, but without a request to see the person
addressed, or she may enclose it in a second
envelope with her card, showing temporary
address, and send it by mail or messenger.

The recipient of the introductory letter
should lose no time in calling on the new friend
or acknowledging the letter, and should show
her some attention socially, if possible. The
French proverb has it, ' ' The friends of our

[28]

SPECIAL LETTERS

friends are our friends." A man receiving an
introductory letter puts the visitor up at his
club and shows him some courtesy after a
prompt call.

A line of introduction on one's visiting card
is often used by busy people, and is quite cor-
rect. It savors of haste, however, and is there-
fore in more general use along business than
social lines.

The introductory card is presented in person
and reads:

Introduction
by Card

Mrs. William Howell Meade

Five hundred and twelve
North End Avenue

[29]

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Invitation

It is an act of courtesy if one has enioyed a
The Bread J J J

and Butter" friend's hospitality for one or more days, to

Letter wrj^e immediately a short note of appreciation.

Such a line may touch upon one's safe home

arrival, any little incident of the journey, and

express the pleasure derived from the visit.

An invitation, no matter how informal, must
be answered within a week and with certainty.
Any delay, or doubtful expression that you think
you can come, or will come if in town, is the height
of ill breeding. Your hostess wishes to know
exactly how many guests to expect, and your
answer must be a positive one. The wording of
acceptance or regret follows exactly that of the
invitation and is addressed to the person who
invites you. Invitations to informal affairs —
small dinner, luncheon, or a week's end — may
be written on note sheets and couched in the
first person. The wording should cover only
the matter in hand, be free from stiff, stock
phrases, and pleasingly cordial in tone.

For the house party the hostess may begin
her note of invitation :

The House
Party

[30]

SPECIAL LETTERS

DEAR Miss BROWN :

I am asking a few people out for the
week's end.

She may mention some especial guest or
friend to be met, and add a kindly word on the
sports or festivities to be enjoyed, that her guest
may know what dress is expected. An enclosed
time table is a happy thought, and the exact
time of arrival and departure may be stated.

Informal notes are written for the theatre ^ Theatre
party. The guests should include an equal Party
number of people, and if a man invites, the
chaperon's name is mentioned in the invitation.
The theatre party is followed by a supper,
which is of course stated in the note, or it may
succeed an informal dinner.

Invitation wording must be followed exactly
and the fact kept in mind that husband and
wife are one in social ways.

A dinner invitation must include the name
of both host and hostess, no matter how in-
formal, and the eldest daughter, if hostess in

[31]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

The Home
Dinner

A Small
Dance

her father's house, includes his name when
issuing a dinner invitation.

The home dinner is by far the highest form
of courtesy. The invitation wording may be in
the third person, thus:

Mr. and Mrs. James Brown

would be happy to see

Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Smith

at dinner on Thursday, the fifth of January,

at seven o'clock.
Sixty-four Madison Avenue.

Less formal is the personal note in the first
person: Will you and Mr. Brown give us the
pleasure of your company? etc.

In answering, the wording should be : It gives
much pleasure, not It will give.

A young girl does not invite men in her
own name, but she may write informal notes
on her own paper, saying that her mother or
chaperon desires her to extend the invitation.

A small dance needs but a written line on
the hostess' monogramed paper, but its word-
ing includes her husband's name, thus:

[32]

SPECIAL LETTERS

MY DEAR. Miss BLANK :

Will you give us the pleasure of your
company at a small informal dance on May 5th?
Trusting that we may see you,

Most cordially yours,

MARY HUDSON SMITH

Regrets or acceptance must under no circum-
stances be written on one's card, but take the
form of a short note following the invitation
wording.

The etiquette of card invitations is found in
a later chapter.

The congratulatory note should be genuinely
joyous, but is more often an obligatory burden, lations

A birthday letter to an aged friend should
have no hint of the advance of years, but rather
the ' ' touch of the spirit of youth. ' ' Kindly,
friendly interest must prompt the letter of
congratulation, and its true ring cannot fail to
be appreciated.

Heartiest congratulations written on one's
card, is sufficient to accompany gifts of flowers
for the young mother, or a wedding anniversary

[33]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

remembrance. One offers the best of good
wishes to a bride, but never congratulations- —
these are for the bridegroom only. A letter of
congratulation to the bridegroom, if an inti-
mate friend, is a pleasing attention. Such a
letter includes well wishes for the bride.

Congratulatory telegrams are addressed to
the newly wedded pair on the day of the wed-
ding, and should be received as soon after the
ceremony as possible.

L tt rs of Letters of condolence are by far the most
Condolence difficult form of written etiquette. One shrinks
from touching another's grief, and yet there is
no other way of sympathetic expression. Even
between closest friends the presence of death
seems to draw a wordless veil and leaves one
dumb and inarticulate, but this would not exist
if we could realize how much the sorrowing one
needs and wants our sympathy. A word coming
at such a time, if but from the merest acquaint-
ance, brings an unquestionable relief and help,
for it bears the comforting touch of a human
hand.

[34]

SPECIAL LETTERS

Still, a note of condolence is most difficult at
times to compose, and if one cannot find satis-
factory wording, the simple line Sympathy on
one's visiting card is sufficient.

The written word should be short, but
genuine. / am thinking of you and sending you
my heartfelt sympathy has a touch of personal
warmth.

The letter or card is sent or left in person,
but without the request to see any member of
the family.

One should give such sympathetic expres-
sions immediate attention, and not neglect them
until the funeral is over.

Notes of condolence are never written on
black-bordered paper, unless the person who
writes is also in mourning.

An engagement is usually announced by a Engagements
tea given by the girl's mother or near relative.
Engraved announcement cards are not issued,
except by families of Jewish or German extrac-
tion.

A luncheon given by a friend of the engaged

[35]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

girl, the news coming as a surprise, is a charm-
ing form of announcement. The invitations are
simple notes written in the first person.
A Shwoer ^ "shower" for the bride-elect may shortly
follow the luncheon. The invitations are sent
by the girl at whose house the shower is to be,
and read :

DEAR Miss BROWN:

I am giving a linen shower for Miss Smith
on Friday at four o'clock. Will you not come,
and, if possible, send your remembrance to me
in the morning, as I am planning a surprise ?
Trusting I may see you on Friday,
Very cordially yours,

FRANCES WHITE

[36]

THE FORMAL INVITATION

A,

.LL FORMAL invitations, which include the
evening reception, dinner, or dance, are en-
graved. The names of both host and hostess
appear on invitations for weddings, dinners or
evening receptions and the cards should be sent Wfl ntoi>
at least two weeks in advance. Invitations for Sent
afternoon affairs, teas, At Homes, garden par-
ties, etc. , are issued in the hostess' name alone.

An engraved invitation form which is easily
filled in for any occasion, is found convenient
for those who entertain extensively. It is shown
on page 38.

The guest's name, the date, hour and enter-
tainment are written on the blank lines, and
the favor of an answer is requested added if one
is anxious for an immediate reply, although
such an invitation demands an acceptance or
declination within a week.

The letters R.s.v.p. are not used as often

[37]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Invitation

Form

Actual Size

Mr. and Mrs. William Howell Meade
request Ike pleasure qf

company at

at-

-o'clock.

512 North End Avenue

as heretofore. They stand for the French
words Re'pondez s'il vous plait and should not
be capitalized. They are not incorrect — but
the favor of an answer is requested seems more
elegant.

The afternoon reception invitation which

± itS

'At Home" takes the form of a tea or "At Home," does
Card noj- require an answer. One goes, or sends a
card at the reception hour if prevented from
attending.

The visiting card is quite correctly used for
inviting, with the word Bridge, Reading, or

[38]

THE FORMAL INVITATION

Music added, and the day and date at the left
corner, thus :

Mrs. James Perry White

December the first

from four until six

Music

Lexington Avenue
Morristown

The words At Home or Tea are not used on
the card. One may also write on one's calling
card: To meet Miss Frances Smith, if Miss
Smith is a guest and the tea is given informally
in her honor, but an "At Home" which in-
cludes a large number of guests requires an
engraved invitation form, with To meet Miss
Frances Smith added above the hostess' name.

[39]

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

The names of the friends who assist a host-
ess in receiving do not appear on the engraved
card, but if two women combine forces and
send a joint invitation, the card appears thus:

Mrs. John Longworth Smylhe
Mrs. Hudson Ward Groves

at home

On Tuesday the sixth of October

from four until seven o'clock

Forty-nine West Fifty-second Street

For the ^ new imitation form for bridge, euchre,
Card Party etc., has a tiny playing card as a heading, and
space lines for filling in the guest's name, day,
hour and game.

The formal invitation card measures five bv

Size

three inches, and is enclosed in a single match-
ing envelope.

Upon no consideration is a printed invita-
tion permissible ; better by far to write to one's

[40]

THE FORMAL INVITATION

guests on good note paper if the expense of
engraving must be considered.

The visiting card of a married daughter may
be enclosed with a card of invitation.

The dinner dance really demands two forms
of invitation, one for the dinner guests, with
Dancing after ten in the lower left corner, and
a second in the form of an "At Home" card,
with the words Dancing at ten for those asked
for the cotillion. A card for the large dance
reads :

Mr. and Mrs. William Howell Meade
request the pleasure of

company on Tuesday evening the twenty-sixth

of December at half after eight o'clock

Five hundred and twelve

North End Avenue
Dancing

The word ball is never used except for an
[41]

The Dinner
Dance

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Assembly or charity dance. Cotillion or Dancing-
on the invitation is the proper form for the
house reception. The debutante's name appears

below her mother's on the invitation which in-
The Debut

troduces her to society. The wording should be :

Mrs, James Hudson Brown
Miss Brown

At Home

On Thursday January the fifth

from four until seven o'clock

Eighty -five Fifth Avenue

Invitations for a large reception cover one's
entire acquaintance. It is a mistake to exclude
persons in mourning. After a short time it gives
pleasure to feel they are not forgotten, but it
must be understood that they cannot respond.

[42]

THE FORMAL INVITATION

Children's parties must not be overlooked.
A charming invitation form with "answer"
attached comes ready for filling in. The card is a
folder fitting a small envelope. A second larger
envelope is addressed for mailing. The guest
detaches the "answer," fills it in and remails
it in the smaller envelope.

Children'
Parties

[43]

WEDDINGS

Wedding
Cards

T .. .
Lettering

*• HERE IS NO form of stationery so dear to
the feminine heart as the wedding card. It
piques the interest of every woman, married
or single, into whose hands it chances on its
travels, and leaves a flutter of delightful ex-
pectancy in its wake. The wording, paper,
style and engraving of the wedding invitation
must be unquestionably correct, or the success
of the wedding, from its social side, is marred.
The newest lettering embraces the shaded
Caxton

the solid French script most pleasing in its
clear, distinct character :

^/ICxA. CtUuictm J\xH*>ell ryfCecuXe
also a variation of this, the shaded French script :

[4,4]

WEDDINGS

and old English type which is a slight modifi-
cation of the early century form, bringing the
intricate M and W into stronger outline:

f tm*

Among the types which still retain their
popularity are the shaded Old English shown
here:

the plain Roman block letter:

the shaded Roman :

and the English Script:

The most approved card for the large church
wedding is in shaded Caxton type. See the
engraved example which accompanies this book.

[45]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Who Invites
You

The Guest's
Name

Wedding invitations are issued first in the
name of the bride's parents, or in the name of
the surviving parent. If the bride is orphaned,
the name of a married brother and his wife may
be used, a bachelor brother or a married sister
and her husband. Failing these, the nearest
relative or guardian.

The wording of a church wedding invitation
requests the honour of your presence, the English
spelling of honour being used.

The home wedding invitation requests the
pleasure of your company.

The rank of officers in the regular army or
navy above lieutenant is prefixed by full title
on invitations. The prefix Mr. is used by
lieutenant with rank following, thus : Mr. James
Hudson Brown, Lieutenant Eleventh Regiment
United States Infantry.

Reverend prefixes a clergyman's name.

The guest's name is written on both invita-
tion and reception card, and should correctly
be added on the church presentation card as
well, but as this necessitates a vast amount of

[46]

WEDDINGS

writing, it is often omitted. A few enterpris-
ing women, in some of the larger cities, have
taken up the work of filling in the wedding
cards and attend also to addressing, stamping
and mailing at a nominal charge. This is sure
to be an appreciated business.

The church and reception cards are enclosed Enclosed
in a heavy matching envelope of white unglazed Cards
with the invitation, which is once folded in
paper. The envelope is unsealed and bears
simply the guest's name without address. A
second envelope, addressed, sealed and stamped,
carries the card to its destination.

' 'At Home ' ' cards may be enclosed with the
wedding invitation, but are not engraved upon
it. The card does not show the name, but merely
the new address and hour for receiving, as the
bride has not taken her married name at the
time the cards are sent.

An "At Home" card may be sent separately
after the return of the couple, in which case it
bears the name of both bride and bridegroom,
thus:

[47]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Actual Size

The Pew
Number

Mr, and Mrs. William Howell Meade

tdll be at home

after the first of October

at Five hundred and twelve

North End Avenue

Reception and "At Home" cards must not
be confused. Both may be enclosed with the
wedding invitation, but the first invites one to
the reception immediately after the wedding,
the second indicates the receiving day of the
bride at her new home.

The addition of the pew number on church
cards is a happy innovation, greatly simplify-
ing the usher's duties in seating the guests. A
plan and the seating capacity of the pews are
carefully studied before the invitations are
addressed, and the placing of each guest is in-

[48]

WEDDINGS

dicated according to relation or intimacy. The
late arrival is thus assured of a seat, and there
is no occasion for uncomfortable crowding.

Please present this card

al the Second Baptist Church

Main Street corner qf Spruce Street

on Wednesday, the Jifih qf June

Pew number

A wedding invitation is addressed to Mr.
and Mrs. James Brown ; another to The Misses
Brown, includes the unmarried daughters. It
is not necessary to send a card to each member
of the household, nor is it correct to add the
words and family to the parents' invitation,
but a separate card must be sent to each son.

Invitations should be sent to the bride-
groom's immediate family.

[49]

Church Card
Actual Size

Addressing
the Cards

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Answering

Wedding
Gifts

The line is drawn between acquaintances and
friends by the enclosing of the reception card
to the latter.

The church wedding invitation needs no
acknowledgment, not even a card. For the home
wedding, where an answer is requested, it must
follow the invitation wording exactly even to the
detail of date and place, and be written in the
third person, on the first page of a note sheet.
It is addressed to the person who invites you,
no matter if an entire stranger.

A card should be sent on the day of the
wedding, if one cannot attend, or if the invita-
tion includes the reception, at the hour of
receiving.

Wedding gifts are addressed to the bride in
her maiden name, and should reach her before
the day of the wedding. The sender's card is
always enclosed.

Gifts are not so obligatory as heretofore, and
are hardly sent unless the invitation includes a
reception card. The bride must acknowledge all
presents herself, writing a graceful, cordial note

[50]

WEDDINGS

of a few lines, and neglecting no gift, however
small, before she leaves. Should a gift be
delayed, however, until the eleventh hour, or
arrive after her departure, she may acknowledge
it upon her return, and add a word of apology,
showing it was impossible to thank the giver
at once.

Wedding silver is marked with the initials
of the bride's maiden name, and occasionally,
in cases of extreme intimacy, may combine the
letters of the last name of bride and bride-
groom.

A charming gift to a bride and one sure to
be appreciated, is a full set of monogramed
paper, from tiny note to letter size; the die
cut with the interlaced letters of her new name,
and the engraving shown in her favorite color
or simple gold.

A second suggestion is the converting of the
copper plate from which the invitations are
made, into a card tray. This can be arranged
through one's stationer after the card order is
completed. A narrow copper rim is added to

[51]

Marking and
Engraving

Stationery
Gift

The Wedding
Plate

The Home
Wedding

SOCIAL STATIONERY

the plate, and the little tray, bearing the simple
wording, becomes a prized possession. It may
also appear as a cigar tray, with match box and
cigar holder added on the sides. This makes a
charming token for the bridegroom.

For the quiet home wedding where only the
family or closest friends are asked, the invita-
tions may be verbal or written in the name of
the bride's parents, or nearest relative. Im-
mediately after the ceremony the marriage is
announced by an engraved card to all relatives
and friends who might have been included at a
large wedding.

The card takes the form shown on page 53.

Another form is shown on page 54.

It folds once in a matching envelope, and is
addressed in a second envelope for mailing.

[52]

WEDDINGS

The following is a form of announcement for
the quiet home wedding, referred to on page 52 :

Major and Mrs. John Masters

announce the marriage qf their daughter

Florence Ethel

to

Mr. Harry William Hunter

on Monday August the fourteenth

nineteen hundred and nine

Boston, Massachusetts

[53]

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

The following is another form of announce-
ment for the quiet home wedding, referred to
on page 52 .

Actual Size

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Howard
have the honour of announcing to

the marriage of their daughter
Marion Edith

to

Mr. William Arthur Smythe

on Wednesday the fifth of November

One thousand nine hundred and nine

New York

[54]

WEDDINGS

A home wedding invitation which is a
charming variation from the usual formal
wording is the following :

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Banning

will give in marriage

their daughter

Margaret

to

Mr. Arthur Frank Warner

Monday afternoon June the sixth

Nineteen hundred and nine

at half past four o'clock
The Firs, ' ' Bellethorpe, Connecticut

Your presence is requested
[55]

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

With the home wedding invitation shown on
the foregoing page is enclosed the following ' 'At
Home" card:

Actual Size

At Home
after October first

"The Oaks"
Bellethorpe, Connecticut

[56]

WEDDINGS

When the wedding is the bride's second Second
marriage, announcement card quite correctly Marriages
omits the parents' name and appears thus :

Doctor Robert Willson

and
Mrs. George Chester White

announce their marriage

on Monday the first of August

One thousand nine hundred and nine

at the

Church qf the Ascension

Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street

in the City of New York

[57]

Actual Size

SOCIAL STATIONERY

When Sent

Recalling
Cards

The bride's crest at the heading of the in-
vitation is quite correctly used, but must be
embossed and show no coloring. It is, however,
considered somewhat superfluous in America
and should certainly never be used unless the
bride's family can claim it directly.

For the silver or golden wedding reception,
a card bearing the date of marriage and the
present year, with the combined monogram of
husband and wife, is charmingly attractive.

The engraving for the silver anniversary may
show the entire lettering in silver, including
monogram, date and wording.

The names of the couple with the wife's
maiden name appear at the heading thus :

John Hudson Brown Mary Stewart Smith

Wedding invitations should be issued from
two to three weeks before the wedding, and
include the bridegroom's relatives and friends,
equally with those of the bride.

If for any serious reason the marriage is
postponed, the invitations are immediately

[58]

WEDDINGS

recalled by a printed card which briefly states
the reason, thus :

Owing to the sudden death of Mr. Charles
Hudson's mother, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hud-
son beg to recall the cards issued for their
daughter's wedding.

The bridegroom never pays for the wedding
cards. The bride's parents or family arrange
the entire expense of the wedding, with the
exception of the bride's flowers, the wedding
ring and the minister's fee. At a large wedding
where maids and ushers attend, the bridegroom
provides gifts for the ushers, their gloves and
ties, and arranges for the bridal carriage.

CRANE'S KID FINISH has been found to be the
finest surface on which engraving can be done.
As such it has long had the sanction of the
most exclusive stationers for wedding papers
for the most particular people.

Who pays
for Wedding
Cards

[59]

CARD ETIQUETTE

The Card •**• ^^ °^ pasteboard and a line of script — its
insignificance is a snare to the ignorant, a
delusion to the misinformed. Milady's visiting
card guides her down the social path, and the
correct choice in size, shape and kind is of the
greatest import.

The quality of the card is a matter which
Quality .

the standard stationer may decide. The best

is none too good, for a poor paper speaks its
fabric as does a shoddy velvet.

An unglazed card of heavy smoothness bears

the touch of quality between one's fingers, and

its high texture is quickly traced by comparison.

™ , Its shape fluctuates somewhat to taste, but

Size an approved card calls for a medium size. Two

and three-quarters by one and three-quarter

inches is beyond reproach. The type of the

card must show the best engraving, and upon

no consideration be printed.

[60]

CARD ETIQUETTE

A man's card must follow the length and
type of his wife's, and measures two and three-
quarters by one and one-quarter inches.

Mr. William Howett Meade

Five hundred and twelve
North End Avenue

A married woman's card bears her husband's
name thus :

Mrs. William Howett Meade

Five hundred and twelve
North End Avenue

[61]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

A Widow's
Card

Divorced

Woman's

Card

Miss and

A widow may prefer her maiden name, thus :
Mrs. Kate Hudson White, but it is considered
better form to retain a husband's Christian
name. The senior matron of the oldest family
branch may inscribe her card : Mrs. Towne.

A divorced woman uses her own name with
her husband's, thus : Mrs. Louise Thompson
Browne; Thompson being her maiden name.
Should she legally reclaim her maiden name her
card appears : Mrs. Louise Thompson.

When a young girl enters society her name
appears below that of her mother's, thus :

Mrs. James Hudson Brown
Miss Brown

on a somewhat larger card.

This continues during her first season, after
which she bears a separate card which, if she is
the eldest daughter, reads : Miss Brown.

These cards are used when mother and daugh-
ter call together. Should the mother call alone,
she leaves her personal card.

A daughter is expected to pay calls only in

[62]

CARD ETIQUETTE

company with her mother during her first season.
When two sisters enter society together, The
Misses Brown is added below their mother's
name, or

Miss Brown
Miss Francis Brown

A man's calling card always bears the title
Mr. , and should show his full name.

A bachelor may have his home or club ad-
dress in tiny lettering at the lower right corner
of his card.

Mrs. William Howell Meade

Tuesdays

Five hundred and twelve
North End Avenue

[63]

Men's Cards

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Titles
Doctor

Minister

Card
Etiquette

A woman's house address appears at the lower
right corner of her card, her ' 'At Home ' ' day
at the left. A receiving day never appears on a
man's card.

Should a woman use her visiting card as an
invitation, she adds the date and hour in writ-
ing at the left corner.

Professors do not use their title on their cards.
A physician's social card reads either: Dr.
Henry Stewart Peters or Henry Stewart Peters,
M. D. His professional card bears his address,
office hours and telephone number in small
script.

A clergyman's card reads: Rev. Thomas D.
Loyde.

A married woman leaves one of her own and
two of her husband's cards when calling on an-
other married woman. A woman never leaves
her card for the men of the household. The
custom of leaving a large number of cards is
quite obsolete. Not more than three is a good
rule to follow. One card for the Misses Brown
includes the unmarried daughters of the family.

[64]

CARD ETIQUETTE

First calls should be returned within a fort-
night, or upon the first ' 'At Home ' ' day.

Who makes the first call is a matter based
on the existing social rule of the town or city.
In Washington the newcomer calls first, thus
choosing her friends. An undesirable acquaint-
ance may be dropped after the second visit, but
the first call must be returned in person or by
an invitation, which stands for a call. If one
calls accompanied by a friend who is not on the
hostess' calling list, her name is not presented,
nor is her chance visit considered a call.

A man, in calling on a friend who is visiting
at a house where he is not acquainted, leaves a
card also for the hostess, but need not ask for
her. She should, however, endeavor to meet
him cordially before he leaves the house.

Invitations which mark an especial hour must
be acknowledged by note, but those which show
a choice of hours, as from four until six, are not
answered save by a card sent on the day, or
left when one attends. An ' 'At Home ' ' or tea
does not require an after call, excepting in

[65]

First Calls

Visitors

Invitation
Etiquette

SOCIAL STATIONERY

small cities where it is somewhat of an event,
when an after call becomes a courtesy.

If one is unable to accept an invitation, a
call must be made within a fortnight. Cards
should be left or sent within two weeks to the
bride's mother after a wedding announcement
or invitation.

T . Cards are not left for each member of the

Leaving

Cards receiving party, one card for each person calling
includes all. If, however, the invitation includes
the name of a special guest, or is sent in more
than one name, extra cards are left.

In sending cards, when the tea is given by
more than one, a card is enclosed for each name,
and addressed to the one at whose house it takes
place.

Cards are not sent on the reception day
when the invitation has already been acknowl-
edged by note, and are never left at an evening
affair.

In calling one's card is handed to the servant
who opens the door, but never to one's hostess
should she happen to admit you. A husband's

[66]

CARD ETIQUETTE

cards are left on the card tray, not sent up, but
are added to the wife's if the hostess is not at
home. On an "At Home" day or afternoon
tea, cards are not given to the maid, but are
left on the card tray in passing.

Mrs. William Howell Meade
and Mr. Ernest W. Meade

thank you for your
kind expression of sympathy

Sympathy or Condolence written on one's
card is sent the day after a death. These cards
may be acknowledged, where a large circle
of friends and acquaintances exists, by a black-
bordered correspondence card, as shown on this
page.

The personal notes, however, from intimate
friends should be acknowledged by writing.

[67]

Actual Size
41x3

Acknowledg-
ing Sympathy

SOCIAL STATIONERY

The width of the border depends largely on
taste and one's near relation. The extremely
wide band, even on a widow's card, is not con-
sidered good form.

Border for both cards and stationery meas-
ures one-quarter inch correctly for deepest
mourning. The following scale shows the dif-
ferent widths of borders employed :

linn

12345 6 7

The rules of mourning are not as strict as in
For those ^n

Mourning past years. It is, however, incorrect to make
calls or enter formal society within a year after
the death of a near relative.

Invitations ma)' be sent within a few months
as an act of courtesy to those in mourning.

New cards are not a necessity, as the border
can be added at any good stationer's, within a
few hours.

[68]

CARD ETIQUETTE

A tiny card, announcing a baby's birth, is
tied with a white ribbon to a card showing the
mother's and father's names. The small card

Births

Walter Howell Mcade

August 3, 1909

Mr. Sf Mrs. William Howell Meade

Actual Size

has the baby's birth date engraved at the left
hand corner. These are sent to all friends of the
parents. An engraved birth card is shown at
some stationers' ready for filling in and is most
quaintly lettered, with touches of pink for a
girl and blue for a boy.

[69]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

The following is a reproduction in a smaller
size of one such card :

. _. /»<?...

<g>£&wl

Crane's Calling Cards, like Crane's Wed-
ding Papers, have never been displaced in the
regard of the stationer who engraves for people
of taste, because such people have never been
so well pleased with anything else.

[70]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

I OU OUGHT to know about writing paper —
what it is that makes it fine and good. You
ought to be able to select for your own use the
paper that becomes you most and that is con- Trained
sistent with your social position, just as you Taste
select materials for a gown.

You know a piece of good lace when you
see it. You know the difference between deli-
cate, cobwebby Venetian or Irish Point made by
hand and the coarser lace done on a machine.
Your taste has been trained by observation and
comparison. By the same method you may
learn to know good writing paper when you see
it, and to care for it, for its own sake.

You can tell why one piece of silk is better
than another. You pay more for a Sevres cup
than you do for one of stoneware. In all these
things you look for quality and adaptability.
It is just the same with writing paper.

[71]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Importance of

Knowing

Good

Stationery

The Higher
Standard

But it is far more important to know good
writing paper when you see it than it is to
know these other things. Your self-respect
demands that your stationery shall be good
enough for you — that it shall faithfully repre-
sent your taste — that it shall lend itself to the
easy writing of letters.

A good writing paper is one that is in itself
a thing of beauty, that is easy to Avrite upon,
and that has the shape, size, color and surface
that social usage says is the best form.

Such a paper, because of its beauty and
appropriateness, makes it easier to write letters.
The use of such a paper is the most delicate
compliment you can pay to the taste of your
friend.

The moment you ask yourself whether the
paper you are now using is good enough for a
particular letter you have to write, you have
recognized a higher standard, both your own
and that of your friend.

It is easy for us to tell }rou the name of a
paper which meets all requirements, but we

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

want to do more than tell you the name. We
want to help you appreciate its wonderful
beauty, its perfect fitness and its correct form.
You will then know not only its name, but also
its goodness. Soon you will pick out this good
paper unconsciously. You will instinctively
compare it with other papers. You will of your
own knowledge feel that it is fine, that it has
quality, as shown by its texture, color and
finish.

The satisfaction of using a good writing
paper comes partly from its effect on the eye
and partly from its feeling at the touch of a
pen.

This gives us three different qualities in ™, T tg
writing paper which you are to look at to de- of Writing
cide whether or not a paper is really the best — aper
what the paper makers call extra " superfine "-
the texture, the color and the surface or finish.

Texture is different from finish. A paper may
have an absolutely smooth surface and yet have
a woven effect when held up to the light. It
may have a smooth surface and not be easy to

[73]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

write upon. It may be too smooth. The pen
slips so easily that it does not leave a continu-
ous line.

Texture is best studied by examining a sheet
held to the light. The minute fibres which
compose the paper should be so evenly arranged
or felted together that the paper is all of one
consistency, not mottled or clouded. The art
of successful paper-making demands a uniform
sheet. And not only uniformity in a single
sheet, but each sheet should be exactly like
another in texture, finish and color, so that en-
velopes, for instance, shall match the paper
that goes with them.

Absolutel ^u^ c°l°r *s one °f ^e most important

While Paper things in selecting paper, and especially when
that color is the color which is really absence
of color — in other words, white.

So many things pass as white that are not
white, that few people realize what a real white
is. Most whites have in them some color.
They shade off toward yellow or blue.

The production of a writing paper that is

[74]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

absolutely white is a very difficult art and de-
pends upon a great many things.

In order that you may know what constitutes
a good writing paper we are going to tell you
something about how the best writing papers
are made.

The best writing papers in the world are Made in The
made in this country. They are made in western Berkshires
Massachusetts, among those mountains which
are known everywhere as the Berkshire Hills.
The first important paper industry in this
country was located here, and practically all of
the important paper mills engaged in making
the finest writing papers are found here.

This is because the first essential to a white
paper is cleanliness — not only cleanliness of air,
but also cleanliness of water — and clear, clean
air and pure, unsullied water are absolutely es-
sential to producing the finest writing papers.

There is one mill in the Berkshires, or rather,
a group of mills, which is very important from
the paper user's point of view. This is one of
the oldest establishments in the country, being

[75]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

over a hundred years old, and for the entire
hundred years it has produced the best writing
papers made in America, and this means the
best writing papers made in the world.

These mills about which we are speaking are
known as the CRANE MILLS at Dalton, Mass.
It may interest you to know that one of these
mills makes the peculiar paper which is used
to produce bank notes and government bonds.
Whenever you have held a dollar bill to the
light you have noticed that it seems to be filled
with fine, silk threads. These silk threads are
a protection against counterfeit. There is only
one way to put these threads in the paper and
this is a carefully guarded secret.

The fact that this important undertaking
has always been entrusted to the CRANE paper
mills is one proof of the unusual care that is
used by these mills in making paper of all kinds.
The policy, carefulness and experience that
produce the nation's currency produce also its
fine writing paper.

All high-grade writing papers must be made

[76]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

from some form of cotton and linen cloth.
What is required for the fibre of the paper is
the long, soft filament found best in the textile
plant. The only way to secure these filaments
for paper-making is to put them first through
the process of being made into cloth. There-
fore, all good writing papers are made from
rags, but CRANE'S fine writing papers are made
only from fresh, clean, white fragments of cloth,
such as the trimmings from collars, shirts,
muslin and linen dresses and white goods of all
sorts. These fragments, although apparently
they are perfectly white and in a far better con-
dition than the rags collected from the piece
bags of the average family, are nevertheless not
white enough to produce a perfectly white writ-
ing paper. They are thoroughly sorted, cleaned,
dusted, and all buttons, hooks and eyes and
other hard substances removed. Then they are
dusted and beaten again, and washed and
washed and washed, and bleached and bleached
and bleached, and finally reduced to the fineness
of the original filaments of the plant.

[77]

Choicest

Textile

Fragments

Pure Water

Artesian
Wells

SOCIAL STATIONERY

These filaments when mixed with water pro-
duce a soft, pulpy mass, and this soft, pulpy
mass is the basis of writing paper.

It is manifest that if there is anything foreign
in the water used in diluting this pulp, it will
prevent the production of perfectly white pulp,
so the water must be absolutely pure.

To secure this at Dalton they do not depend
on the streams which flow through the Berk-
shire Hills, clean and pure as they are. They
do not depend even upon the springs which at
Dalton are singularly pure and clear.

The purest spring may have some sediment,
may be stirred up by a falling leaf.

Formerly spring water was used, but in the
search for cleaner water, artesian wells were
bored, an even cleaner water was found, and
CRANE'S papers became perceptibly whiter. To
give you some little idea of the importance of
water in paper-making, it may be stated that it
takes over one hundred gallons of artesian well
water to make one pound of CRANE'S LINEN
LAWN.

[78]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

This scrupulous searching cleanliness applies
not only to the water. It applies to the mills
themselves, to the work people and to the air
itself. No soft coal is permitted to be burned
in Dalton. The mills and all the machinery
are spotless as your kitchen.

In paper-making eternal cleanliness is the
price of success.

By means of the water the pulp of perfectly Turning into
white, soft filaments of cotton is floated into Paper
paper. Simply and theoretically put, this pulp
flows over a large, flat screen, which is being
constantly shaken from side to side, so that the
water falls through the screen and the filaments
of the pulp are matted or felted together in a
sheet.

All the time that this is being done the sheet
is also moving forward upon this wire mesh. As
the sheet goes forward it gets more and more
like paper as more and more of the water drops
out, until finally, between rollers, the last drop
of water is squeezed out, and the paper is held
together, bound, woven or felted into a tight,

[79]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

close, homogeneous fabric, absolutely uniform
in color and consistency and perfectly white.

This fine, long, white, beautiful web of paper,
put together by the gentle, imperceptible action
of the water until no part of it is thicker or
thinner, lighter or darker than the other, is cut
into sheets as it comes from the paper-making
machine.

These sheets consist of nothing but the fine,
absolutely white, perfectly felted filaments of
the cotton plant.

Tub Sizing Such a sheet, beautiful as it is, could not be
written upon as it would act upon the pen like
blotting paper. Before it becomes the writing
paper that you know, it must be sized. That
is, it must be filled with a transparent filling
or sizing, the best of which is made from gela-
tine, which gelatine is produced from the hides
of cattle. When you hear a stationer speak
about a sheet of paper as being "animal-sized"
or "tub-sized, " you will know that it has been
made in the best possible way.

In the finest writing papers each sheet is

[80]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

dipped in a tub of this sizing, and then is hung
to dry upon a pole. It is allowed to dry slowly
and naturally, which improves the quality of
the paper.

This process is called "loft drying. " Every
sheet of CRANE'S EXTRA SUPERFINE writing
papers is animal-sized and loft-dried.

The sheet of paper is still a natural sheet of
paper. It has not yet been finished. The finish,
as the stationer understands it, is the way the
surface of the paper has been treated. If you
will look at a sheet of CRANE'S LINEN LAWN,
you will see that its surface resembles the sur-
face of a piece of linen. If you will hold a sheet
to the light, you will see that it looks exactly
like a fine linen handkerchief held up to the
light.

This is done by pressing each sheet between
pieces of linen cloth so that the fabric surface
of the cloth is firmly pressed into the paper.
This must be very carefully done to produce
the beautiful fabric-finish that is found in
CRANE'S LINEN LAWN.

[81]

Loft Drying

Linen Lawn

SOCIAL STATIONERY

Kid Finish Another kind of finish is seen at its best in
CRANE'S KID FINISH, which has all the effect to
the touch of a fine kid glove. This is done by
pressing the sheet between plates of highly-
polished steel. Other finishes are obtained in
other ways, and are given appropriate names.

The principle of making writing paper is the
same everywhere. Wherein the CRANE papers
excel is in that every step of the process is
taken more carefully and every bit of material
used is selected more carefully, and because
years of experience have taught better ways of
doing these things.

This description has been applied altogether
to the making of white papers. Tinted writing
papers are made in practically the same way,
except that the coloring matter is added to the
pulp while it is still wet.

The art of coloring paper is a very delicate
one. Rare judgment is required to get a pure
and beautiful tint, and again in producing the
same color or in matching any particular de-
sired shade.

[82]

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

Holding a sheet of paper to the light to Crater-mark
examine it is not only the best way to deter-
mine its quality, but it is also the way to see
the water-mark, which is the sure way of identi-
fying any paper of any particular make.

All of the CRANE papers are water-marked
"CRANE'S," and in
addition some of
them have the name p
of the particular LRAHLJ
paper. For instance, \) \JThff LlNEft
CRANE'S DISTAFF
LINEN not only has I/O/

these Words in the (Water-mario

water-mark, but also a reproduction of the old-
fashioned distaff, which is the characteristic
trade mark of this particular paper.

CRANE'S papers are made in quite a large
number of finishes and also in quite a large
number of kinds, all of which are good, in
good taste and correct.

The great demand for a fabric-finished paper
has given unusual popularity to CRANE'S LINEN

[83]

SOCIAL STATIONERY

LAWN, so that today it is the most widely used
fine writing paper.

Not everyone prefers a fabric-finished paper,
nor is it necessary in order to be in good taste
that you should use such a finish.

(Water -mark for Crane's Linen Lawn)

Linen Lawn
Tints

For Wedding

CRANE'S LINEN LAWN is made not only in
white — and in the case of white, the white is
actually white — but there are many beautiful
tints for those who care for tinted paper.

CRANE'S KID FINISH is the same paper as is
Invitations used in the best wedding
invitations. It is made
either in white or a very
delicate and almost im- r\| D |~ I N I on

perceptible shade of 1908

gray, known as Pearl (watermark)

Gray.

[84]

CRANES

YOU— AND YOUR WRITING PAPER

1908

(Water-mark)

CRANE'S PARCHMENT VELLUM is almost as
smooth as CRANE'S KID FIN-
ISH, but it suggests more par-
ticularly the peculiar and
well-known surface of vellum.

CRANE'S SATIN FINISH is
even smoother than the KID
FINISH.

A very beautiful paper, and one that is very
popular with people
who like the old-
time, hand-made
papers, is CRANE'S
EARLY ENGLISH.
The only way to describe this is to say that it
resembles a hand-made paper.

CRANE'S DISTAFF LINEN is a linen paper.
"Linen" in this case means a finish which we
have come to recognize as the linen-finish, and is
characterized by the perpendicular lines about
three-quarters of an inch apart, giving it the
antique effect that is often found in old papers
used for printing.

[85]

(Water-mark)

Parchment
Vellum

Early

English

Linen

Distaff Linen

SOCIAL STATIONERY

~ , CRANE'S BOND PAPER is world-famous and is

White used by high-class corporations for bonds and

Bond certificates of stock they issue. For those who

desire a paper of medium thickness and strong

fibre for social or business correspondence there

is nothing better. For foreign correspondence

especially it is most desirable.

[86]

INDEX

I N D E X

Addressing, a bishop, 21 ;
clergyman, 21; congressman,
21; a divorced woman, 24;
doctor of divinity, 21; formal,
20; friends, 19; governor, 21;
judge, 21; mayor, 21; offi-
cers of army and navy, 46;
the President, 20; professional
men, 20; professional women,
24; senator, 21; the Vice-
President, 20; wives of profes-
sional men, 24.

Answering the letter, 19.

At Home, invitations for, 38;
cards, 56.

Jjook-marks, 16.

Borders on writing papers, 6.

Business letters, 22.

Calling Cards, acknowledging
invitations, 65; births, 69;
condolences, 67; divorced
woman's, 62; for invitations,
64; home address, 63, 64; leav-
ing, 62, 64 ; a married woman's,
61; a man's, 61, 63; Miss and
Misses, 62; mourning, 68;
shape and size, 60; titles, 64;
a widow's, 62.

Calls, 65.

Cards, At Home, 47, 56; an-
nouncement of birth, 69; for
correspondence, 15; to accom-
pany gifts, 15; introduction
by, 29.

Card Party, invitation for, 40.

Children's Parties, invitation for,
43.

Condolence, letters of, 34.

Congratulation, letters of, 32.

Correspondence Cards, 15; for
acknowledging sympathy, 67.

Crane's Calling Cards, 70.

Crane's Papers, Bond, 86; Distaff
Linen, 83, 85; Early English
Linen, 85; Kid Finish, 59, 82,
84; Linen Lawn, 81, 83;
Parchment Vellum, 85.

.iJance, invitation for, 32.
Debut, the, 42.

Dinner dance, invitation for, 41.
Dinner invitation, 31.
Directions for guests, 11.

jLngagements, announcement of,

35.
Envelopes, 5.

1* orm of address, 19.
Formal address, 20.

Foreign correspondence paper, 4;
envelopes, 5.

-Home dinner, invitation for, 32.
Honorable, whom to address as,

21.
House address on letter paper,

10, 11, 12.
House party, invitation for, 30.

Introduction by card, 29; by
letter, 27.

Invitations, for At Homes, 38;
bride's shower, 36; card party,
40; children's party, 43; small
dance, 32; dinner, 31; dinner
dance, 41; engraved form for
receptions, dinners, etc., 38;
home dinner, 32; house party,
30; joint, 40; letters of, 30;
theatre party, 31 ; weddings,
44; when to be sent, 37.

Letters of acceptance, 30; con-
dolence, 34; introduction, 27;
invitation, 30; regret, 30.

Letter-writing, the essence of a
good letter, 18; the address^
26; closing, 25; date, 26; fold-
ing, 26; order of pages, 25.

JVlarried women, use of title by,

23.
Monograms, 7.

Mourning, acknowledging sym-
pathy, 67; borders for cards
and stationery, 68.

1 lace cards, 13.
R.s.v.p., 37.

ohower for bride-elect, 36.
Signatures, 23.

1 ablets, monogramed, 13.
Theatre party, invitations for, 31.
Third person, use of, 21.
Typed letters, 23.

Unmarried women, use of title
by, 24.

Wedding gifts, 50.

Wedding Invitations, acknowl-
edging, 50; addressing, 49;
At Home cards, 47, 56; bride's
crest, 58; church weddings,
46; church and reception
cards, 47, 49; enclosed cards,
47; golden wedding, 58;
guest's name, 46; home wed-
ding, 52; lettering, 44; paper
for, 59; pew number, 48; re-
calling, 58; reception cards,
47, 48; second marriages, 57;
silver wedding, 58; by whom
issued, 46; when sent, 58;
who pays for, 59.

UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

A 000126254 2

University of California

SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388

Return this material to the library

from which it was borrowed.

NB>brr\e

ecfical Lib

LIBRARY

rary

THIS pocket contains a com-
plete wedding invitation just
as it comes from the en-
graver. The wedding paper
is CRANE'S KID FINISH with
cards and envelopes to match.
It shows an example of the
best engraving, showing both
the most fashionable letter
and the most approved word-
ing and arrangement. A
wedding invitation following
this model will be absolutely
correct.

THIS pocket also contains a
diagram of the sizes of Crane
writing papers and envelopes.

Univei

Sot

Li