Page 12 - Print21 November-December 2021

Leading Article
Mail makes it matter
If writing was the original communication revolution, printing was its superpower. The mailing system was a natural development. For many generations, postcards and letters were the primary means of conducting business and staying in touch. Even in the digital age they still retain an unmatched power of connection.
In 1991, my eldest daughter, T1, went overseas after college with a girl friend as part of the great Australian coming of age ritual. We waited nervously for word
she was OK, that she’d landed in London and found a place to stay. Two long weeks later we got a postcard saying all was well and how wonderful England was.
In the 2000s, my second daughter, T2, also headed overseas, travelling with her boyfriend. They landed in Heathrow, took a tube into the centre of London and found their hotel booking was a mix up. Waiting to sort it out they went to an internet café, and chatted with us over email about their predicament.
What a difference those ten years made.
A few years ago I found a collection of T1’s postcards and aerograms of her trip around Europe, where she was reached via poste restante at GPOs in different cities. Scribbled and battered they are a tangible and valued record of a significant time in her life. There is no way T2’s emails are recoverable.
I was reminded of this, of the utility of
the postcard, when writing an appreciation of James Cryer’s newly published book, Th Romance of Letterpress. (page48 in this issue). It is largely based on a diary and postcards his grandfather wrote on a trip across the
USA in 1914. At the time, postcards were coming into their own as an effective means of communication. Cheap, colourful, and convenient, they were the beneficiaries of advancements in colour printing. It helped that the postal service at the time was energetic and frequent, also cheap.
The result is a trail of postcards from cities across the USA that supplements the diary entries. The quirky, parochial and idiosyncratic cards give us a cheery view of places such as downtown Chicago, Salt Lake City and Niagara Falls in the early years of the 20th century.
As a personalised record of life and travel at a particular time, they’re hard to beat.
Will we be able to say the same of our Facebook entries, our blogs and emails in 100 years time?
‘Snail mail’ or ‘granny mail’ or ‘social mail’ as it’s better called, is plummeting in volume. Every year Australia Post reports a decline of up to 50 per cent for international letters and 30 per cent in domestic, even as commercial mail, addressed and unaddressed, keeps up. Christmas cards are also falling victim to the convenience syndrome of email. Does anyone want more emails clogging their inbox because someone can’t be bothered to write
a card and post it? Don’t imagine the Xmas emoji you send will impress your clients and
make them feel you value the relationship. The greeting card industry uses the term
‘social expression’ to describe birthday, anniversary and sympathy cards. There is no shortage of cute and funny cards to express thefi ershadesofwhatyouwanttosay.And there is no shortage of local card publishers presenting uniquely Australian greetings.
The envelopes coming through the letterbox represent a unique ‘interrupt media,’ making the recipient take notice, as opposed to emails being conveniently unclicked or becoming blocked in a spam fi ter.
As a dedicated print consumer, I appreciate the occasional postcard and letter from friends and relatives. I value printed statements from my credit cards, which make checking the charges so much easier. Sometimes even well- designed, unaddressed, travel, political and discount offers draw my attention. The better they are designed and printed, the more I care.
So, if you want to return to getting letters and cards in the mail, I suggest you start
the ball rolling by writing and posting a few yourself, especially this Christmas. They’ll
surely be appreciated.
21
Patrick Howard
— Editor-at-large
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12 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
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