Astounding calligraphy + amusing comics

This very talented blog reader has written me in calligraphy before, and it was such a treat to hear from him again! I think I want to frame this envelope, it is so magnificent. And I love the feather flourish at the top.



The return address is beautiful, too, and the sealing wax matches the ink.

I know you want a closer look at that eagle seal:



Dazzling! Now, someone might be able to tell me why the crowned eagle is sticking out his tongue? That must have some interesting significance.



This kind blog reader's ostensible purpose was to send me these very amusing comics about letter-writing; they're fun, but I enjoyed his writing far more!



Indeed, the whole letter was that incredibly beautiful.

How can ANYONE think that an email could ever equal THIS?

Metallic ink powder calligraphy on black paper

One of my pen pals is an artist who writes every letter in calligraphy with a flexible-nib dip pen. She often uses these marvelous metallic powders (dip pens only, not for use in fountain pens) for sparkly flair.

After a conversation on The Fountain Pen Network (FPN), she sent me this letter, which was even more a work of art than usual!



The theme at the time, of course, was Halloween - I love the artistic embellishments!



I'll end with two different views of the same section, so you can see the different sparkles and the orange undertones of the metallic powders (I hope).



And in case you're wondering... NO, I can't do this myself! :-)

A calligraphy letter

I was so delighted and impressed to find this beauty in my mailbox! It looks to me like one of my blog readers is a professional calligrapher, because this work is just gorgeous. I love the sense of humor of orange ink matched to the Homer Simpson stamp.



In fact, the entire fine letter is in calligraphy, and he praises his wax seal from Atelier Gargoyle. Cool stuff.

JB's gorgeous letters

One of my correspondents makes letters that look like calligraphy throughout. She uses a flexible-nib dip pen with ink using metallic powder, which cannot be used in fountain pens because it will clog the pen.

Her letters are works of art! I won't post the text for privacy, but here is the date of her last letter. I tried in this photo to capture how this metallic powder, which she said is called "scarab," alternates from red to green based on the angle of the light. Amazing.

Best viewed large for full effect.