Writing letters... do you write on the back?

[lefty928]

http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss113/2wood/quill/crosshatchletter.jpg

 

Well, here is my attempt. I think I should have used smaller handwriting and more italic. Can anybody read it?

 

Very nice and regular handwriting! I feel very sorry for the recipient of my own experiment, but I used just one page of non-essential stuff, and I write way too many pages anyway. Unfortunately, the recipient no longer frequents this forum.

Edited December 5, 2009 by lefty928

[mackthepen]

 

 

In some cases they would then turn the page again and write a third time, this time on the diagonal. Those letters with a diagonal as well are extremely difficult to read. With the crosshatching you just have to keep your eye in and they really are easy to read. Most people just look at them and are instantly intimidated, so don't really try to read them properly. I wonder if anyone on here has ever tried writing and sending a crosshatched letter?

 

 

 

I used to send crosshatched letters when I sent aerograms and ran out of space (I didn't have much money in those days, and aerograms were much more likely to get through the censors than normal letters too). I quickly learned that typing them (and sometimes in different colours for each direction) helped enormously with readability.

 

Andrew

[ZeissIkon]

 

I've written one page within a letter, just as an experiment, although it didn't look nearly as beautiful as the sample. (The letter was to an FPNer, in the hope he would be more primed to tolerate my curiosity about this old practice.) I didn't know about then writing a third time on the diagonal, which would be a disaster with my handwriting!

Wouldn't it be great if the recipient came on here to let us know how they got on with reading it I'm very tempted to try it out on a letter too.

 

The the pens and inks I usually use, I think my handwriting is too "dense" to crosshatch this way. Every legible example I've seen was what I'd characterize as "spidery" writing -- a fine nib for the letter size -- and I tend to write just large enough to keep the letters open.

[mrloco]

From "Emily Post's Etiquette, 17th Edition"

 

On single-sheet stationary, it's fine to write on both sides. An exception is airmail-weight paper so thin that the writing shows through and makes the letter hard to read.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Emily-Posts-Etiquette-Thumb-Indexed/dp/0066209579/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260102581&sr=8-1

[mrloco]

I was delighted by the topic of crosshatching added to this thread. I'd not seen this before. Don't know that I'll ever use it but out of curiosity confirmed switching inks for each direction helps readability. Forgive the crooked lines and awful penmanship -- it was a rush job!

 

 

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/435/crosshatchhandwritingte.jpg

[wood]

mrioco, I couldn't see your image but maybe it is at my end. I'm curious as to how yours turned out with the different inks. I thought about it but then decided to use all one ink like the historic example.

[oldnavy1988]

Carrie, that cross-hatched letter is quite interesting. The person had a very regular hand in terms of slant and spacing.

 

Anyway, I always only write on one side, but I receive letters written on both sides and that's fine with me. I think it's one of those things that is completely up to you.

 

Doug

I agree with Doug, I use one side of the paper for reasons I myself am unsure of. Although, I am glad to receive letters written on one side or both. A person preference is all.

[spotted and speckled]

Your friends will love you, even if you write on brown paper bags. Do what you want. Write on both sides. Write in three directions, in 4 different color inks. Use Hello Kitty envelopes with Crane stationary--who cares??

 

 

Live in a mix & match world. It's much more colorful that way!!

[mrloco]

mrioco, I couldn't see your image but maybe it is at my end. I'm curious as to how yours turned out with the different inks. I thought about it but then decided to use all one ink like the historic example.

 

Wood,

 

First, I'm embarrassed to have my sloppy quicky-sample compared to yours which looks like art. I found, using two 'soft' colors so that one does not overpower the other, that reading was much easier. I used a pale blue-black I'd mixed for one direction and FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown for the other. I only did a horizontal + vertical test--no diagonal.

 

I was able to pull up the image in IE as well as mozilla-firefox so I'm not sure why you can't. I'd be happy to send a copy but I suspect you could reproduce my results more quickly than we could exchange PMs. Still, drop me a PM if you'd like a copy of the jpeg.

 

I had just received the Emily Post Etiquette book in the mail when this thread popped up and was happy to find that Emily says it's o.k. to write on both sides. Also happy I got an opportunity to use the book the day it arrived. I don't think she'd approve of crosshatch for most correspondence, though. Still I find it fun to view.

[Enai]

I was delighted by the topic of crosshatching added to this thread. I'd not seen this before. Don't know that I'll ever use it but out of curiosity confirmed switching inks for each direction helps readability. Forgive the crooked lines and awful penmanship -- it was a rush job!

 

 

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/435/crosshatchhandwritingte.jpg

 

I think reading the top is easier than reading the bottom. It might help if you use a lighter ink for the top, and darker for the bottom.

[wood]

mrioco, I can see it now. It must have been a temporary thing. I can read your letter just fine but I'm on a lap top and turned my computer.

 

I think a third color for the diagonal would have been a bit busy. I have a suspicion that crosshatching was just sent to close friends and family. It could have been just a fad. Maybe the person who posted the original can tell us.

[Enai]

Cross hatching letters was used at a time when postage was considered expensive.