Mourning stationery

Letter with a mourning border c. 1861
Back of envelope with mourning border, 1893

Mourning stationery is a letter, envelope, or calling card with a black border, used to signify that a person is experiencing mourning.[1][2] It was first used in the 17th century in Europe and was most popular during the Victorian era, during which it was also used in the United States and West Africa.[1][3][4][5]

The border may start thick and thin over time,[1][4] or the thickness may depend on the level of bereavement, or both. For example, the death of a child may call for a thicker border than the death of a cousin.[6][7] Social norms expected that the mourning period was to be displayed in both public and private. After the death of a reigning monarch, a mourning border may be placed on public notices, newspapers, and other government stationery.[1]

Convention was that children did not use mourning stationery.[8] If seals are used with mourning stationery, they are conventionally black.[8][9] Black borders may also be used on letters announcing an execution.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Mourning Stationary" (PDF).
  2. ^ Keim, De B. R. (1889). Hand-Book of Official and Social Etiquette and Public Ceremonials at Washington (3rd ed.). Рипол Классик. p. 264. ISBN 978-5-87661-545-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ "mourning stationery". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  4. ^ a b Hall, Nigel (2000). Letter Writing as a Social Practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 99. doi:10.1075/swll.9.06hal. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  5. ^ Peterson, Derek; Newell, Steph; Hunter, Emma (2016-09-29). African Print Cultures: Newspapers and Their Publics in the Twentieth Century. University of Michigan Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-472-12213-4.
  6. ^ Popova, Maria (2012-12-21). "How to Write Letters: A 19th-Century Guide to the Lost Art of Epistolary Etiquette". The Marginalian. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  7. ^ Westlake, J. Willis (1876). How to write letters; a manual of correspondence. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b Eichler, Lillian. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Book of Etiquette, Vol. 1". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  9. ^ Crowther, Mary Owens. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of How to Write Letters". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2023-09-07.