Summer update for etsy store: postcards only

Happy June! I know it's not officially summer until the solstice, but June pretty much means summer to me. I've hinted at some changes afoot for summer... I will save the big reveal for a post coming in the next week or so, but for now, note the heads up:

Over the summer, I will be selling only original postcards in my etsy shop.

If you want anything else - such as vintage V-mails, stickers, or vintage postage, buy it now or wait until late August...

I will be removing all options except the original postcards on this Saturday, June 4 - so make sure to buy them before then if you want them! Also on June 4, my etsy store will close briefly while we take care of some personal house business and I'll be unable to access my stock. It will reopen by the middle of next week.

More big news about summer fun coming soon...

V-mails are back!

I'm pleased to report that I now have Vintage WWII V-mail stationery sets back in my etsy shop once again. These fantastic vintage papers were used by American soldiers and their loved ones in World War II to correspond via letters.

You can read more about V-mails in a previous blog post, or go have a look at them on etsy... and happy letter writing!

Red, white, and blue

I thought some good old red, white, and blue was in order for the season.

This is a letter I wrote last night on some vintage Wessel "envo-letters" stationery. It is WWII era, dates around the same time as the V-mails, but notes in packaging that it can be sent anywhere, not just to and from U.S. troops (as was the intent for V-mail.)



And yes, I do use the stickers I sell in my shop for my own correspondence, too.

To all my American readers, have a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Vintage original WWII V-mail stationery

UPDATE:


Now I really do have these back in stock, and a few sets to sell so more than just one. I love these things!!

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More shop listings promised, and now I'm finally delivering. I am so, so, so excited about these WWII V-mails!! I've been writing letters on them for a while, but I just came into a fresh stock of them, and have more than I can use, so now I'm selling lots of 4 in my etsy shop:

Vintage original WWII V-mails



During WWII, one of the best ways for U.S. soldiers to correspond with their loved ones back home was a new-fangled invention called the V-mail, short for Victory-mail. One wrote on the sheets included in this listing, and in order to save space on airmail planes, the V-mails were microfilmed, sent on film via airmail, and then reproduced at the destination.



My etsy listing is for four (4) original WWII V-mail letter sheets. They are still usable in the postal service -- I've written many letters on them myself! They function as an aerogramme or fold-and-mail; you simply write on the writing surface (shown unfolded in the last photo), and then fold and seal as directed. My items include the original gum, which should still be good (but for modern postal sorting machines, I do recommend reinforcing the seal with tape or something, just to be on the safe side - and I tape the sides shut, too, so they don't get caught in the sorting machines).

These are NOT reproductions, but actual papers from the 1940s printed during WWII. There is even a field for the censor's stamp. They take fountain pen ink beautifully, and the paper is of a good quality for all kinds of writing instruments.



They measure 5 5/8 x 9 3/8 folded as shown, and I will send them folded as shown (original packaging folds) in a large envelope.

Write a letter on a piece of history!
Vintage original WWII V-mails

If you want to see examples of some of the letters I've written on them, check out these past blog posts:
Modern letter on vintage V-mail
V-mail with vintage stamps

Modern letter on vintage V-Mail

Here's another vintage original V-Mail with a recent, modern letter. For double fun, I used Noodler's new V-mail series ink, Midway Blue.



You gotta go for some vintage stamps on V-mails, too.

V-mail with vintage stamps

V-mails are basically WWII-era fold-and-mail postalette type things. They were created as a means to get letters from home efficiently to soldiers overseas. Someday (one of my famous somedays) I will photograph the inside, too - they are very neat. And they still make great letter-writing stationery, with that vintage flair, and take fountain pen ink well.

And I love to use vintage stamps on 'em.