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The podcast Stationery Orbit pointed me to a couple of articles discussing how x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to 'uncover' the redacted portions of Marie Antoinette's love letters. "A team of researchers, led by Anne Michelin from the Research Center for Conservation in Paris, tested whether common forensic techniques could differentiate between the inks used to write the passages and those used to cross them out. The composition of the two inks is very similar, which made the project challenging. After exploring analytical techniques, Michelin’s group found they could use the consistent copper-to-iron ratio between the inks in some of the original letters to uncover crossed-out words between the putative lovers. Using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and a suite of data processing tools, they deciphered the redacted text, which included words like “beloved,” “adore,” and “madly.” Historians had hypothesized that the Count’s great-nephew censored the letters to protect the von Fersen family’s reputation. But after analyzing the overlying redaction inks and comparing their composition to the inks that the Count used to write the letters, the researchers found that the inks were nearly identical and are now confident that it was the Count himself who censored the letters. Michelin, reached over email, says that result surprised her: “We didn’t think we would have such strong evidence.” see this link for website or this link for even more background info

Hi Pen Friends, Someone close to me is among the people in the current batch of letter requests posted at The World Needs More Love Letters. I'd love it if this person gets a huge outpouring of love and mail. Please consider writing! It is a great way to put all of your delicious, fun, gorgeous pens and ink to use! From their website: "The World Needs More Love Letters is a global organization using the power behind social media to write and mail letters to strangers all over the world. Not-for-profit and completely mission driven, we let anyone nominate someone in need of a love letter bundle. We pick stories that resonate. You get the chance to write a letter and mail it in. The task is small but the impact is greater than you can imagine." Information about the recipients, including mailing addresses: http://www.moreloveletters.com/the-letter-requests/. The postmark deadline for the current letter requests is September 5th. I'm not going to say which of the 6 people getting "bundles" is the one I know. It'd be great if that person gets lots of mail, but I also think the other 5 are super-deserving. (I'm writing to the others in this batch, too.) So please read through them and respond to the request that feels right to you. Or write to all 6! And keep an eye on the site for the next batch of requests; there is always a list posted (in spans of about 2 weeks at a time) of people who deserve letters from you. FAQs about the organization: http://www.moreloveletters.com/home-alt/ And remember that if you use up some of your ink and stationery, you have a good reason to buy more. Thanks!

http://news.msn.com/us/video?videoid=16c6b19a-da94-b667-3981-5326d80e933d&from=en-us_msnhp

Dear Fellow Fountain Pen Users, ​I have just discovered that some of my roses in my garden have a sweet aroma to them. I have scented my papers with incense sticks every time I send a letter to anyone. But I'm getting a bit gitty now discovering that I can have rose scented paper! I don't have a girlfriend, nor do I plan on finding one anytime soon. What I do have is a surprisingly large circle of lady friends, for lack of a better phrase, that I do know very well and send letters too. I also correspond with my older brothers and every now and then, a stranger. So the question must be asked. When is it appropriate to use rose scented paper? Thanks for the Help!

So my Noodler's Konrad Flex will be arriving soon, and I was wondering what inks, preferably darker inks, look great with the flex nib? I have both Parker Black and Blue/Black and Diamine Ancient Copper. I plan to order some better quality paper, which is my next question. What is an economical paper, preferably from gouletpens (No affiliation), that I can use for just sending some letters? Thanks for the help!!! -Franky