--- This is very very cool, neat, groovy and out-a-sight! What a
great email!
Sarah from Appledumpling Gang has by far the best carvings and
elegant logbooks in the mid-atlantic. I don't know how you plan on
judging but please do consider her work.
Looks like we get to go back to the Smithsonian and do another
stamp. It won't be the same because I felt like a spy the last go
around.
Good job, Legerdemaine!

Psychomommy and Princess Turtle



In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Drew Family"
wrote:
> --- In LbNA-Webmasters@yahoogroups.com, "Madeline Gere"
> wrote:
> Greetings!
>
> My name is Madeline Gere. I am a Smithsonian Associate, and
own
> a
> small art gallery in Nashville. Folk art is my passion and area of
> expertise. I am thrilled to have been made aware of this new
genre
> of
> self taught art. Many of you may be thrilled to know that the
> Institution sees what you are doing as an important new folk art
> movement. We are interested in collecting and preserving some of
the
> art and artifacts from this nascent period of American
letterboxing.
>
> Next month will be the five year anniversary of our magazine's
> article on letterboxing in Dartmoor, England. A few months ago, we
> became aware that the article had precipitated an American version
of
> letterboxing. As you know, we contacted one of your members, who
> goes
> by the name Legerdemaine, and the Smithsonian letterbox project was
> initiated. Legerdemaine brought some of his work to the
Smithsonian
> and showed it to us, and encouraged us to make a broader collection
> of
> the works being done. I'm pleased to say that we have decided to
do
> this. I have been asked by the curator to oversee this collection
> process.
>
> I have spent some time perusing the Letterboxing.org website,
as
> well as other letterboxing websites affiliated with the
Letterboxing
> Web Ring. I am excited by the vitality and breadth of your growing
> community. I'd like to work with this group to identify, collect,
> and
> preserve a good cross representation of the work being done. At
this
> time, the Institution has no plans for a display of this material,
> but
> this may well happen at some time in the future. We feel that it
> would
> be expedient to collect and preserve this work before it
disappears.
> Subsequent additions to our collection may be made as time goes on.
>
> The first step in the process is to identify the important work
> that has been done to date. I'd like the help of this community in
> doing this, as it will be impossible for me to evaluate several
> thousand letterboxes. Could you work together to come up with a
> list
> of fifty to one hundred of your best works? The best fifteen to
> twenty
> from these will be selected to include in our collection. The
> emphasis of the collection is on physical items that can be
> displayed,
> so we are most interested in the stamp artwork, journal, and
> container. The clues will have less weight, but artful clues are
> part
> of the ideal package. Please do not include stamps that do not
have
> original artwork (from a source such as clip art) even if they are
> well
> executed. All items donated will become property of the
Institution,
> so
> please include only those items which people are willing to
donate.
>
> I look forward to working with this group to collect and
> preserve
> its heritage. Unfortunately, I do not have time to correspond
> directly
> with all the members of a group this size. I've never worked with
an
> internet based group such as this before (nor one so large), and
I'd
> like to proceed by having the group self-identify what it believes
to
> be a representation of its best work for the Institution to make a
> final selection from. We would like for this collection to be a
> broad
> representation, and therefore we will not include more than three
> works
> by any individual in our final selection.
>
> Finally, I'm sure that most of you are aware by now that the
> letterbox set up for us in the Castle by Legerdemaine has
> unfortunately
> disappeared. As much as we were enamored with this concept, it is
> apparent that such a letterbox cannot be safeguarded. Given our
> connection with this activity, and the popularity of this
letterbox,
> we
> would like to have an official letterbox for visitors to stamp in.
It
> will now be kept behind the information desk and will be available
to
> those who know to ask for it, but it will not leave the information
> desk. It will not be part of the collection. We have asked
> Legerdemaine to make another one, but he has suggested that we
> should
> have a design competition to allow everyone to have a chance at
it.
> I
> have decided to leave this in up to you, and Legerdemaine has
agreed
> to
> coordinate the contest and supervise the selection of an official
> stamp
> from within the group.
>
> I look forward to working with you and learning about your art.
>
>
> Cordially,
>
>
> Madeline Gere
>
> Chanticleer Gallery
> http://chanticleergallery.com
> 1403 Caper Road
> Nashville, TN 37206
> (615) 242-6704
> madelinegere@c...
> --- End forwarded message ---

> The first step in the process is to identify the important work
> that has been done to date. I'd like the help of this community in
> doing this, as it will be impossible for me to evaluate several
> thousand letterboxes. Could you work together to come up with a
> list of fifty to one hundred of your best works?

A logistically difficult undertaking.

One way to handle it is for prospective donors to upload their work
to the "Files" area. If there are more than 100 submissions, then perhaps
the group can vote. (It appears people can't be "nominated"; the
artists must promote their work themselves).

I have created a folder called "Smithsonian" for this purpose in the
Files area. My suggestion is for people who want their boxes considered
to submit pictures or scans of them there.

Of course, there may be a better way to handle this. Since none of
my work will be in the running, I have no stake in it -- I just figured
I'd take a stab at the logistical problem. Feel free to offer alternatives.

(I estimate there is space for at least 200 stamp scans, without deleting
anything, and without moving stamps from some of the other folders. If
you need _pictures_ (for unique journals or containers), then perhaps
including an off-site url in that folder will make more sense).

Cheers