Crane's Blue Book of Stationery

I run a small stationery and invite business (Quite the InviteTM) and have found this to be an invaluable tool for my business. This book covers all possibilities. Not everyone has use for this book, but anyone who does lots of entertaining or needs to make sure their invites follow protocol, this is a must.

A lovely reference book on formal and semi-formal stationery, calling cards, and the proper wording for invitations. Filled with enthusiasm after reading the book, I went into my local stationers to price some of this fancy stuff and concluded that I was better off with a computer and printer. Not that I wouldn't love engraved letter sheets, monogrammed notes, and house stationery, but it would run into the hundreds of dollars. And that's just for the letter sheets and engraved envelopes! However, it's wonderful to press my nose against the window and dream about spending my children's inheritance on engraved correspondence cards! The sections on the content of one's correspondence were the weakest part of the book. The four-line formula condolence notes did not strike me as particularly consoling, for instance. "Miss Manners' Basic Training: Communication" and other books specific to letter writing give much better tips on how to compose meaningful messages. But Crane's remains the lofty goal for elegant correspondence.

As someone who got really intrigued by parchment and fancy fonts when I got married, I'm rather surprised that the only version of this book still in print is the "Blue Book of Wedding Stationery." After all, one can have a hoity-toity paper fetish without being engaged.After a few years of hunting, I found a used of this book in a small used bookstore in downtown Seattle, and I may never give it up. Even though the editor (Feinberg is not credited as the author, and there's an introduction by Stanley Marcus) is bossy, unrelenting on some conventions and is essentially pushing Crane's engraving trade every step of the way, I'm still drawn in by the ellegance of "proper" social stationery. It's easy to take Feinberg's advice with a grain of salt: he seems to resent popular etiquette mavens who state that an extensive "stationery wardrobe" is not necessary, and that the most formal invitations are handwritten.The introduction of this book gets into the history of paper-making and engraving, and the beginning of each section gets into either the history of the custom being described or stories behind that particular piece of social stationery.I'm a tad disappointed by the section on calling cards -- a small fluffy book I saw on the subject once got a bit more into detail on what it meant if a particular corner was folded -- but the fact that Feinberg addresses the subject at all wins a point with me.Other topics covered are the basic "stationery wardrobe" for both men and women, invitations to various occasions, wedding stationery (of course), greeting cards and announcements, "professional stationery," forms of address and a brief history of Crane's. The book includes an occasional example of famous social stationery, such as a 1942 Christmas card from the President and Mrs. Roosevelt.I've been online for ten years, but I still love sending and receiving paper letters. "Crane's Blue Book of Stationery: The Styles and Etiquette of Letters, Notes and Inivitations," snooty though it is, nurtures that love like few other books have.Chapter headings include:1. The Essence of Etiquette2. Social Stationery3. Invitations to Social Occasions4. Wedding Stationery5. Greeting Cards, Social Announcements, and Social Correspondence6. Business and Professional Stationery7. Calling Cards8. Appendix