Inside the Suitcase

To you, lifting the lid,

Welcome to the Storm Post Office. This letter was posted from inside a suitcase: sage fibrous paper, flowing Arts and Crafts book-cover lettering, and a rich border in which a garden gate, roots, and the brass corners of the case are all engraved. Ocher birds perch on flowering tendrils. Copper foil appears only on the small hinge marks. It is 1913, and a whole garden has been packed into the luggage.

The author of Candide closed his book with this sentence: "But we must cultivate our garden." — Voltaire, Candide (1759)

The case is small and the garden is large, because the garden is yours to plant. Close the gate gently behind you; when you want to write, come back here.

Lid left open,

Storm Post Office

1913 · Inside the Case

P.S. The copper foil is only on the hinges. Everywhere else, please touch freely.