You Can Telephone All Over the World

I had another go at creating a collage card this weekend, and the above was the result. It was made using a 1960s editions of National Geographic with an advertising slogan from a 1964 edition - "You can telephone all over the world" underlined by a much more recent satellite image. But what a quaint slogan! So anachronistic in today's world. But it got me thinking.

Ross Coulter,  10 000 Paper Planes - Aftermath via Centre for Contemporary Photography

On the weekend I went to this wonderful exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Photography and heard several artists talk about their work. One of the artists was Ross Coulter, and his photographs depicted the aftermath of a performance art piece involving 10,000 paper planes being launched into the domed reading room at the State Library of Victoria. Now, for starters, the domed reading room is one of my favourite places. But, more than that, I loved Coulter's photographs because there was something incredibly compelling about the inherent rebellion in 10,000 paper planes being strewn across that hallowed space reserved for hushed tones and studious concentration. The photographs are big (156 x 200cm), glossy and wonderful.

Coulter explained during his floor talk that he worked at the SLV in 1999, right at that time when email was transforming the way we communicate with one another. The computer age was dawning, and Coulter described the paper planes as, in a way, symbolising the transmission of an idea through space. He was also asking a question about the role of libraries into the future, as we move from the analogue past into the digital future.

When I came across the Bell Telephone Company's 1964 slogan "You can telephone all over the world" that night after hearing Coulter's talk, it made me think of the cutting edge of communication - an international telephone call was a big deal in the sixties; and we were still adjusting to sending emails in the 1990s. How times have changed! Which is exactly what Australia Post was trying to capture in their "Then and Now" stamp release from earlier this year.

Actually, I think the stamps are a little ugly.  Despite the fact I have strict (ok, lax) rules about not collecting ugly stamps, I had to have them, because they had a cool gutter strip (and I love a good gutter strip). But really, the best way to find out about the "then" (as opposed to the "now") is to go directly to the source by looking at stamps issued at the time. So check out this fantastic stamp from 1985 visualising Electronic Mail:

Don't those triangles resemble Coulter's paper planes zooming through the aether, though his had landed and these are mid flight? It is such a space age image. I love it. So that is how Electronic Mail was imagined in 1985. 1985! Very cutting edge.

Could Australia Post have possibly imagined the transformative nature of e-mail for their industry at that point in time? I don't think so. I think at that point Australia Post might have presumed that they would be delivering, in some capacity, those electronic mails, and this 1985 stamp was advertising that futuristic hope.

So, as we ponder the roles of libraries and postal services as technology races ahead into the future, I think (and hope), for the time being at least, there are enough bibliophiles and philatelists (read: nerds) to keep these historic and vital institutions alive. And we can only imagine what people in thirty years might think of our communication practices today! Maybe our dependence on emails will be laughably quaint. Who knows?? Lets just hope that there are still postage stamps for us to gaze at, decipher and treasure.

Lovely Package Exchange

Oh, hello friends!!
Recently, following my new resolution to adhere to the motto of the Letter Writers Alliance, "plura scriptum epistola", I decided to sign up to participate in the Lovely Package Exchange organised by Danni at her Oh, Hello Friend: You Are Loved blog.

The lovely package I sent off. It was slightly more lovely once I added the full postage value with more nice stamps!

And on the flip side :)

My swap partner was collage artist and zine connoisseur Kelly who conveniently also lives in Melbourne. It was a very fun thing to do - to put together a lovely package, and then receive one in return. And funnily enough, we must have very similar tastes, because some of the things I included in my package to her, I received in return - namely, some lovely airmail envelopes and some stamps (ah, yes, Kelly must be a girl after my own heart).

So - this is what I sent Kelly. First off, I have been experimenting with collage myself a little lately. And since Kelly is into collage, I made her a card:

What do you think? I made it using some vintage National Geographics. And I was pretty pleased with the result. I quite like the three odd-bods at the beach.

Inside the package I included a variety of things, which I do hope she likes: some earrings, some stamps, some vintage postcards, some vintage buttons, some lovely material from the 1920s for crafting, and my favourite thing: a 1949 Atlas full of lovely colour maps and some pretty great black-and-white photos.

Then, in return, I had a tasty treat waiting in my mailbox tonight...

...And it was full of lots of goodies!

Gypsy the Cat was pretty interested in my little haul! 

Kelly sent my some very fun mt washi tape, a cute bird stamp, some vintage postcards, a notebook, some pencils in a cute pencil case, and my favourite of the lot, a gorgeous vintage knitting pattern:

It is full of lovely gloves, scarves and hats to knit! How fun!

Thanks so much to Danni for organising, and to Kelly for being a great swap partner. I am a big fan of a lovely package!!! Thanks ladies!

And if people are interested, another blogger I follow, Rin from Papered Thoughts has also blogged about her Lovely Package Exchange experience. Check it out!

Oh, there is so much fun to be had in the blogosphere - and I am even more excited when the blogosphere merges with actual reality in my mailbox!!