The Manliest Letter You’ll Ever Write

Thank You notes from the 15th century.

By The Editors
March 4, 2015 9:00 am

You’ll read this email for a minute, then forget it.

You’ll keep a box of handwritten letters, oh, pretty much forever.

That, my friend, is the power of the written word.

Use it.

And pair it with vintage, elegant stationery from Minnesota’s Brown Ink, available now.

“There was a noticeable lack of handsome men’s stationery out there,” explains Brown Ink founder Wendy Brown. “So I started my own line.” (Note: the women in your life will also find plenty to like here.)

These are not mass-produced Hallmark sentiments.

The stationery here starts with a flat letterpress card, a time- and labor-intensive technique that dates back to the 15th century.

It also means each card, made one at a time by hand, is unique.

The images on the cards — sailboats, a canoe paddle, field dogs, lumberjacks, a martini, even taxidermy — are all sourced from vintage printing blocks dating from the ‘20s to the ‘60s and feature a decidedly Midwestern iconography. The fonts are sourced from newspaper and poster print companies from the same time period. 

Classy and understated.

Brown Ink also sells an assortment of old-school writing tools, including wood pens, letter zipper pouches, brass pencil sharpeners and maple hardwood address stamps.

Time to write.

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