In
this letter,
John (the UK) enclosed some vintage cigarette cards, which used to be in packets of cigarettes and tea, to nag one's parents to get a particular brand. Among them, one about
the man who posted himself.
W. Reginald Bray. The Human Letter
The owner of the largest collection of postal curios in the British Isles, Mr. Bray was the first man to post himself as a human letter. His collection was started as a hobby in 1898; he made a thorough study of the Post Office Guide and discovered that one of the smallest articles that can be sent by post is a bee, and the largest an elephant! Mr. Bray has posted many peculiar articles, including a shirt front and a collar with the addresses actually written upon them (see illustration). Other things he has sent include a bowler hat, a turnip with the address and message carved on it, a pipe, a cigarette, flask, shoes, cycle pump, etc.
That card is a collector's item :-)
ReplyDeleteIn mail art (dada and fluxus) the mail companies are challenged, too, by strange objects sent nakedly (without envelope).
And it was an eye-opener to get to know that mail artists weren't the first, and that W. Reginald Bray in fact was the pioneer. I loved to discover his mail adventures, thanks to John Tingey's book, some years ago.
Tingey also made a website in honour of him, I guess you know it, http://wrbray.org.uk.
Besides strange objects, I love his regular mail with puzzling addresses! So great, for instance a postcard to the man working in the lighthouse (referring to the photo of the lighthouse in front of the postcard).
On John Tingey's IUOMA page there are a few photos of Bray's mail, too. Among them a crocheted envelope and a photo of Bray pisting onions (I guess that's why the present mailbox openings aren't as wide anymore :-) )
ReplyDeletehttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/JohnTingey
DeleteThanks! I still have to read the book. I'm sure I will love it!
DeleteThe book is super.
DeleteDefinitely... I need to get it!
DeleteFascinating - I didn't know about these vintage cards.
ReplyDelete