I haven’t sent anyone a letter in ages, but back in the pre-digital day l used to send and receive mail all the time. My friend Geoff Seaman is moving, and in an effort to lighten his footprint he just gave me a sack of correspondence I sent him during the years we lived in different cities, from the mid-70’s to the mid-90’s. I’m far too self-conscious to reread any of the old letters, but I am pleased by some of the decorated envelopes, and I’ve posted an album of them here.
The bulk of them fall into four categories: first, pictures of movie stars and other famous people (anticipating my eventual career in caricature), such as this watercolor of Carol Kane:
Self portraits:
Portraits of friends and lovers, such as this image of David Chelsea In Love subject Minnie:
And purely decorative exercises in swirly type:
I do still like getting mail, so any of my luddite friends are welcome to send me a snail letter, but don’t expect to get a decorated envelope back. The Twentieth Century was a far slower time for me, and I don’t have nearly as much time on my hands these days.