Pentland Press Ltd, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, United Kingdom, 1996. Hardcover. Dust Jacket. In this beautiful and innovative book, David Swales studies hand-illustrated postal envelopes from their origins in the nineteenth century, to the lastest greatly enhanced forms, made possible by the use of modern materials, graphical styles and postal practices. Swales describes how the integration of clever ideas, good artwork and an appropriate choice of postal stamp into the design of an envelope illustration can result in an attractive or meaningful message of communication to send to a friend or loved one. All successful examples have, to some degree, and element of surprise for the recipient embodied in the illustration, and it is this quality more than any other which brings a lasting enjoyment and fascination to those who receive them and to those who produce them. Such envelopes can become collector's items and may also, in the future, become documents of considerable social worth. Bound in black cloth, these 87 pages reproduced on heavy glossy paper include over 100 hand illustrated envelopes, giving the reader an entertaining and instructive introduction to this art form. A list of artists or illustrators known to have produced these envelopes is included.