--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Kristen wrote:

> I was just wondering if the stamp that you carry to mark in the
journals of the boxes you find, should match that of the stamp that is
in a box that you hide.

Hi Kristen,
Glad to hear of your newfound interestin boxing. welcome.

here's my take on it...there's two things that are part of the
letterboxing mystique if you will, first of all...the stamp that you
find in a letterbox is usually unique in and of itself. The stamp
reflects either the content of the clue, subject matter being sort of
people, place, event or thing. So for example - I placed a box in
Rhode Island as a mystery and it was entitled: href="http://home.gwi.net/~moxie1/Clues/Providence.html">I AM
PROVIDENCE but without giving away the location, you can already
guess that it's 1) in Rhode Island and/or close to and/or located in
Providence....and that the stamp when you find it will reflect the
subject matter.

So, when I design a letterbox for placement, I've got a particular
person, place or thing that relates to the clue as well as the stamp.
In theory, none of the stamps that I've created are ever going to look
the same. They are each unique to the place that I had in mind to
plant a box.

Furthermore, my personal "signature stamp" also reflects my own unique
letterboxing persona. If you've seen my stamp then you'll understand
however, your personal stamp is usually something that nobody else
will have. If you were to create boxes that contained stamps that were
the same as your signature stamp then everytime someone found a box,
they'd always have your stamp in their logbook instead of a stamp that
might help them remember their adventure in a particular state or
location or perhaps date.

The beauty of letterboxing is getting to pour through your old
logbooks and seeing all the different stamps. Each stamp will help you
to remember what the search was all about. If all you had in your
logbook were 100+ phyto signature stamps, then I'd say you're logbook
might get boring!!!

Cheers to the new year,
Phyto in Maine

Well said.

I just wanted to add that a lot of what Phyto speaks of involves carving your own stamp, either personal or for a box. A lot of us do this exclusively. There definitely are, however, personal stamps and box stamps that are store-bought or even professionally commissioned). Whichever you decide to do, find something that really reflects who you are.

If you are just starting out, you may want to read the FAQ on Letterboxing.org and also check out Atlasquest. Also, check out the New Letterboxers yahoo talk list as well. There are a lot of great answers and ideas to be had there.

Regardless, welcome to our addiction/hobby/sport/art/game. I will warn you, this talk list has its ups and downs in terms of passions flaring up and arguments happening and people 'taking their ball and going home', but don't ever let this forum be mistaken for Letterboxing itself. When you go to your first letterboxing gathering and meet people in person, you'll realize you're in the company of fun, amazing and very friendly people.

Again, welcome!
-Kim (Rustypuff)

>
> From: "Phyto"
> Date: 2006/01/07 Sat AM 11:39:52 EST
> To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [LbNA] Re: Letterboxing Question
>
>


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