LETTER Perfect : When You Put It in Writing, the Right Stationery Adds a Welcome Personal Touch

In a world that bombards us with electronic messages, it is the handwritten letter that often touches us most.

Delivering it on beautiful paper only adds to the pleasure.

While designers of stationery seldom succumb to fads, there has been a loosening in recent years of what is considered appropriate. It is, for instance, no longer forbidden for stationery to be playful.

There are many types of social stationery--from the large-letter sheets with coordinating envelopes to informal note paper to correspondence cards. And there are varying qualities of paper, degrees of adornment and methods of personalizing.

As styles of communication have changed, so have styles in stationery and invitations.

An 1883 press release put out by Tiffany & Co. stated: “Some ladies’ note paper is brightly decorated. . . . But such fancy stationery is little used, except for the Western and out-of-town trade. The illuminated papers are rather shunned by ladies of fashion and quiet good taste. Crests and initials are not as popular as they have been.”

Today, however, papers can be floral, colored--even striped--and be considered proper.

“Color in informal stationery has really surfaced in the last 25 years,” explained Betty Morrin, stationery consultant for South Coast Plaza’s Tiffany & Co. “You can get anything color-wise you want.”

For Tiffany’s, though, traditional papers made by Crane are the ones most requested; ecru and cream are still the preferred colors.

An American paper manufacturing company since 1801, Crane makes papers only out of 100% cotton and is the company that makes the paper for the U.S. currency.

“Technically, good stationery is expensive,” Morrin said. “But it will last, and it won’t discolor. That’s especially important for wedding invitations and letters that we want to last.”

A box of Crane stationery can range in cost from $6.50 for a box of 20 note cards with no borders and envelopes to as much as $275 for 150 papers with a two-color custom monogram and lined envelopes with addresses printed on the flap.

The biggest-selling paper at Papyrus in South Coast Plaza is a floral Victorian-style portfolio of note cards and envelopes. Designed by Marcel Schurman, it is priced at $10 for 10 pieces

“Crane is the best quality and is made of cotton reclaimed from other industries, with no chemicals and no harm to the environment,” said Patricia DuCharme, a stationery design consultant with a shop located in The Bride in Newport Beach.

“When you touch the paper, you can tell the difference. Since paper uses your tactile sense, you’re not really consciously aware of it; you just know it feels good in much the same way a silk blouse does.”

The earliest papers developed in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago were made from papyrus, a reed that grows along the banks of the Nile. Yet China was really where modern papermaking began during the first century. The Chinese used silk, linen and even old fishnets in papermaking. The papers made in the first paper mill in America in 1690 were made by hand from cotton and linen rags. The 100% cotton papers of today are made in much the same way as they were 2,000 years ago in China.

In the last half of the 19th Century technology gave us paper from wood pulp instead of cotton. This is the paper commonly used today. It will not last the hundreds of years the cotton paper will, because the acid used to break down the wood pulp continues to work on the paper, gradually decomposing it.

But contemporary papers don’t stop at wood or cotton. Elephant-hide paper and rice paper are among the varieties carried at Papyrus in South Coast Plaza .

Paper comes in origami-like envelopes that open up to show the contents, as well as flowered portfolios holding stationery decorated with raised Victorian flowers. There are also papers with modern geometric details and tailored flourishes.

“Some people felt Crane was boring, so these new papers started,” said Sheryl Dutrisac, manager of Papyrus. “However, Crane came out with a new line of stationery a few months ago that has broken with tradition somewhat.”

These new Crane papers have Spencerian calligraphy and hand-painted flowers on them. They combine the traditional invitation with an old-fashioned look that’s been updated.

For DuCharme, though, the real joys of paper are the custom designs possible. She works with clients to get the look they want that fits with their personalities.

“Even picking the right typeface for engraved stationery is important,” she said. “I have a boxier handwriting, so I use that kind of type on my stationery. Someone with a very ornate handwriting should use a typeface that coordinates with it.”

“I love getting letters from friends,” said Ninetta Herbert, a San Clemente resident who is an aficionado of fine stationery and social etiquette. “So many people don’t take the time to write notes and thank yous that when you do get them, you really appreciate them.”

“I think that monogrammed cards are a nice way to go,” Herbert said. “Their smaller size makes them handy for notes, invitations, even menus. And when you spend money on engraved monogramming, you want to get as much use as you can out of the product.”

A similar way to customize stationery is by thermography, or raised printing. This gives a look that is similar to engraving, although not as expensive or as fine.

Another addition to a stationery wardrobe that is a throwback to earlier times is the calling card. When it includes your address and phone number, you have a card to give out in lieu of tearing out a deposit slip from your checkbook.

Calling cards are still used for their original purpose, but also as gift enclosures. While not necessarily a common custom, according to Crane etiquette, when used as an enclosure, a calling card should have a line drawn through the name on the front and a brief handwritten note on the other side. Calling cards can be individualized through different typefaces, motifs, designs and colors. There are different sizes, too, from the very small to oversized European-styled ones.

A more familiar piece of stationery these days is the response card often enclosed with a wedding invitation. Use of a response card is a custom that has developed only within the last 20 years and one that traditional stationers frown upon.

“I think this came about because of the greed of stationers and printers,” DuCharme said. “They convinced the customer that to be a good hostess, you should send one. It roughly doubles the cost of printing, adds extra postage and is incorrect to boot. I try to talk my customers out of using them, but about 90% use them anyway. Response cards really are appropriate only for invitations to charity balls.”

At Tiffany’s, only about 5% of the customers use response cards since the traditionally minded store strongly advises against them.

While letters are welcome even when written on lined notebook paper, a letter written on fine stationery has an additional charm and longevity.

“I don’t know where my fetish for beautiful stationery comes from,” Herbert said. “Perhaps it started when I was a child and my parents gave me personalized stationery to write thank you notes on. All I know is a letter from a friend is a special thing. It isn’t intrusive like the phone, so you can read it when you want to and as often as you like. It’s really better than a phone call, because it lasts.”

DuCharme underscores that point with a personal experience: “When my mother died, I found a condolence letter to her on the death of her father. I read it with great interest since my grandfather had died before I was born. That letter is the only written remembrance I have of him. A telephone call would have been lost. The letter will last for centuries.”