Sealed & Delivered: The Hidden Stories of Envelopes

Envelopes—simple, everyday objects, yet packed with symbolism. They represent communication, mystery, protection, and transformation. But did you know they’ve influenced art, literature, music, nature, and culture in profound ways?

From ancient Babylonian clay coverings to modern postage, envelopes have evolved to safeguard secrets and stories.

Artists like Sarah Nicole Phillips and Mark Powell repurpose envelopes into stunning works of art.

Literature uses envelopes to drive narratives, from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Purloined Letter to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

In music, envelopes symbolize love, secrecy, and even boundary-pushing creativity.

Even nature has its own versions—viral envelopes, cocoons, and fungi spores, all designed for survival and transformation. Across cultures, envelopes play vital roles—from Japan’s shugi-bukuro to China’s hóngbāo, carrying messages of luck, mourning, and celebration.

Next time you hold an envelope, think beyond the paper—it's a vessel of history, art, and human connection. 

✨ Subscribe for more explorations into the magic of everyday objects! ✨

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the None But Curious podcast. We're all about finding inspiration in life's uncertainties.
Whether you're still figuring things out, questioning your beliefs, or just curious
about the world, come hang out with us as we celebrate the beauty of not having all the answers.

(00:22):
Let's talk about envelopes. Think about it. They're everyday objects, simple, utilitarian,
but they're also packed with symbolic meaning. Across cultures, they represent communication,
mystery, protection, and the passage of messages. Envelopes have influenced art,
literature, music, nature, and spirituality in profound ways. So today, we're going to explore

(00:44):
their hidden stories. The story of envelopes stretches back to ancient times. Doesn't
everything? The Babylonians were the pioneers encasing clay tablets in clay coverings for
protection. By 1200 BCE, the Chinese had developed paper from reeds and rice, likely
using it to protect letters. In the 17th century, envelopes as we know them began to appear in

(01:06):
France and Spain. King Louis XIV of France popularized their use to ensure the privacy
of letters. The first prepaid postal wrapper, known as the Mulready envelope, emerged during
Queen Victoria's reign in England. Envelopes continued to evolve, with machines for making
them appearing in Britain and France in the 19th century. During the American Civil War,

(01:28):
makeshift envelopes with messages and slogans were often used and are now considered collector's
items. Today, envelopes come in various sizes and designs, but their primary purpose remains the
same—to protect the contents inside and ensure secure delivery. This rich history sets the stage
for exploring how envelopes have been used creatively in art, music, and literature.

(01:49):
In the world of art, envelopes often embody themes like communication, secrecy, and anticipation.
They also act as metaphors for emotional or intellectual barriers.
Brooklyn-based artist Sarah Nicole Phillips transforms discarded office envelopes into
stunning collages, and she gives new life to what would otherwise be waste. Her journey with

(02:09):
envelopes began in 2008 when she worked in an office job that required her to sort mail.
Intrigued by the patterns lining the envelopes, she started collecting them and saw an opportunity
to turn the abundant material into art. Phillips weaves the history of these envelopes into her
artwork. Initially used to hide sensitive documents, their patterns were meant to be
unreadable. She takes these monotonous designs and transforms them into vibrant scenes.

(02:33):
Imagine expanses of colorful grass, bodies of water ascending into sky rainbows,
trees being lifted by beams of light from another world, and plant life spilling out of an elevator.
The Brain Cell Project is a collaborative mail art project initiated by
Ryosuke Cohen in June 1985. Individual artists create 30 cm x 42 cm or 12 x 16 inches artworks

(03:00):
using artist stamps, drawings, stickers, and other elements. These artworks are sent to Cohen,
who prints 150 copies of each using a Cyclostyle, an obsolete printing device.
Cohen sends one copy back to the artist and distributes the rest among other participants.
Cohen named the project Brain Cell because he believed that the structure of a brain

(03:21):
with neurons clinging together resembled the interconnected nature of the mail art network.
New editions are released every 8 to 10 days. 8 to 10 days! As of January 2024,
there had been 1,220 issues. Man. Mark Powell, a talented London-based artist,

(03:41):
is renowned for his incredibly detailed portraits using just a big b-roll pen.
What's truly unique about his work is that he draws these portraits on antique envelopes from
the mid-19th century. These envelopes retain their original stamps and handwritten addresses,
and it adds a historical layer to his art. Powell's work primarily features elderly
individuals capturing their wise, wrinkled faces with intricate detail. Each portrait

(04:06):
tells the story of time and experience, creating a powerful visual narrative.
In addition to human subjects, Powell also illustrates birds with the same level of
precision, emphasizing the delicate details of feathers and expressions. Powell's portraits
often convey deep emotions and reflect the lives and experience of his subjects.

(04:39):
Alright, we're going to move on to literature. In literature, envelopes often drive stories
forward, holding secrets, revelations, and the connections between characters.
In Edgar Allan Poe's The Purloined Letter, the story revolves around the theft of a
compromising letter from the royal apartment by the cunning Minister D. The police, led by Prefect
G, thoroughly search the minister's home but fail to find the letter. Desperate, they turn to the

(05:02):
detective, C. Auguste Dupin. Dupin cleverly deduces that the minister has hidden the letter in plain
sight to avoid suspicion. Upon visiting the minister, Dupin locates the letter disguised
and seemingly out of place, allowing him to outwit the minister and retriever.

(05:26):
The envelope holding the stolen letter is a powerful symbol that embodies several key themes.
First, it represents hidden knowledge and the significant power that comes with possessing or
revealing such information. The envelope serves as a vessel of secrecy, containing details that
could alter lives and power dynamics. Additionally, the envelope is central to the struggle for
control among the characters, highlighting its role as a symbol of power and dominance.

(05:50):
The minister's clever strategy of hiding the envelope in plain sight
shows how simple strategic thinking can outwit even the most thorough investigations.
Furthermore, the envelope challenges the character's perceptions by revealing that
sometimes the most valuable truths are hidden in plain view. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's
Tale, envelopes symbolize various themes related to control, secrecy, and resistance within the

(06:13):
dystopian society of Gilead. Envelopes often contain official documents and orders from
the authorities, symbolizing the regime's control over information and surveillance of its citizens.
They also play a role in the underground resistance movement, as secret messages and
information are sometimes exchanged through concealed envelopes. These envelopes represent
covert efforts to resist the totalitarian regime, highlighting acts of rebellion and the struggle

(06:37):
for freedom. Additionally, envelopes symbolize hope and desperation. For example, when Offred
receives a letter from a fellow Handmaid, it represents a glimmer of connection and solidarity
in an otherwise isolating environment. Envelopes in The Handmaid's Tale encapsulate the tension
between the oppressive forces of the regime and the enduring human spirit that seeks freedom
and connection. Atwood uses envelopes to highlight the complex interplay of power,

(07:01):
resistance, and survival in the world of Gilead. Emily Dickinson's envelope poems are fascinating
pieces of her literary legacy. These short, often fragmented poems were written on the backs of
envelopes, old letters, and other scraps of paper. And because of the materials she used,
they are sometimes referred to as scrap poems or envelope poems. These poems often feel intimate

(07:23):
and personal, as if Dickinson was jotting down fleeting thoughts and emotions. The small,
informal nature of the writing materials also adds to the sense of privacy. Many of these envelope
poems were not published during her lifetime. They have been preserved through the careful
efforts of literary scholars and historians who have studied and compiled Dickinson's handwritten
manuscripts. These poems provide valuable insights into her creative process and the

(07:48):
breadth of her poetic talent. Here's an example of Dickinson's work from the collection aptly titled
Envelope Poems. And the poem reads,
In this short life that only merely lasts an hour, How much, how little, is within our power?

(08:09):
Oh, I invite you to sit with that this week. I'll read it again.
In this short life that only merely lasts an hour, How much, how little, is within our power?
All right, moving from poetry written on envelopes, we're now going to look at symbolism of envelopes

(08:31):
in song lyrics. In P.J. Harvey's The Letter, the envelope becomes a vehicle of desire and longing.
Harvey's lyrics describe the act of writing a letter to a lover, encapsulating her emotions
and intentions within the envelope. The envelope here symbolizes communication and the intimate
act of expressing one's deepest feelings. It also represents a form of connection that transcends

(08:52):
physical presence, highlighting the power of written words to convey emotion and desire.
DJ Draagyn's "Pushing the Envelope" takes a different approach, using the envelope as a
metaphor for innovation and breaking boundaries. The phrase pushing the envelope itself refers to
testing the limits of what is possible. In the context of DJ Draagyn's lyrics, the envelope

(09:14):
symbolizes the constraints of conventional thinking and the drive to exceed them. The song
celebrates creativity, experimentation, and the courage to venture beyond established norms.
In Kevin Ayer's "The Hat Song", the envelope symbolizes the superficial aspects that people
notice, such as the shirt and hat, rather than the deeper, more meaningful parts of a person's

(09:36):
identity. When Ayers asks, "is it just an envelope that you can see?" He's questioning whether people
only see the external image, ignoring the true self within. This aligns with the theme of
superficiality, highlighting the speaker's longing for genuine recognition and connection beyond mere
appearances. The envelope, therefore, serves as a metaphor for the outer layer that conceals the

(09:58):
substantial and emotional facets of a person's character. It's probably been too cold to go out
into nature yet, at least in my part of the world. So we're going to discuss envelopes or envelope-like
structures that occur in nature. Viral envelopes, for example, are lipid or fat membranes that

(10:20):
surround certain viruses, allowing them to merge with host cells and evade immune defenses.
These microscopic layers, often borrowed from the cells they infect, make viruses like influenza
and HIV more effective at spreading. And man, let me tell you, whatever the influenza that's
been going around these past few months, that's a doozy. I hope you have not gotten it. It's terrible.

(10:45):
Cocoons are another example. These silk-wrapped chambers shield caterpillars as they undergo
metamorphosis, breaking down and rebuilding into butterflies or moths. Though delicate on the outside,
cocoons protect one of nature's most dramatic transformations. And even fungi rely on
protective envelopes. Now I'm going to pause here for a second. Do you say fungi? Fungi? Fungi?

(11:10):
I say fungi, but I don't know what's correct. So go with it. So even fungi rely on protective
envelopes. Many mushroom spores are encased in tough outer layers that help them survive
extreme conditions, from drought to intense sunlight. Some spores can remain dormant for
years, for years, waiting for the right conditions to grow. And these natural envelopes ensure

(11:32):
resilience and renewal, allowing life to persist even in challenging environments.
Envelopes have long been more than just paper wrappers. They carry deep cultural
significance, reflecting traditions, values, and emotions across different societies.
In Japan, shugi-bukuro are envelopes that are used to present monetary gifts for weddings,

(11:53):
births, and funerals. These envelopes are often decorated with intricate Mizuhiki knots,
symbolizing longevity and good fortune. Their design and color vary based on the occasion,
bright and festive for celebrations and more subdued for condolences. And it showcases the
importance of etiquette and thoughtfulness in Japanese culture. During the Victorian era,

(12:16):
black-edged envelopes were a quiet but powerful symbol of mourning. Families used them to send
letters after a loved one's passing, subtly signaling their grief. The thickness of the
black border even indicated the stage of mourning, with wider edges for early grief and thinner ones
as time went on. This tradition reflected the strict social customs surrounding mourning in
the 19th century. And one of the most recognizable cultural envelopes is the Chinese hóngbāo,

(12:41):
or the red envelope, traditionally given during Lunar New Year and other special occasions.
These envelopes filled with money symbolize prosperity, good luck, and protection from
misfortune. The red color itself is considered highly auspicious in Chinese culture, believed
to bring happiness and ward off bad luck, a tradition that dates back centuries and remains

(13:02):
a cherished part of celebrations today. Whether expressing respect, mourning, or well wishes,
envelopes have long played a meaningful role in cultural traditions, providing that sometimes
what's on the outside is just as important as what's on the inside. So envelopes may seem like
ordinary objects, but today we've realized that they hold profound significance across history, art,

(13:25):
literature, nature, and culture. They protect and conceal, they deliver messages both literal and
symbolic, and they shape the way we communicate and express meaning. From ancient clay coverings
to modern mail, envelopes have safeguarded information for centuries. In art and literature,
they evoke mystery, anticipation, and secrecy, while in music they serve as metaphors for identity,

(13:48):
boundaries, and emotional depth. Even in nature, envelopes play a crucial role,
shielding viruses, nurturing transformation in cocoons, and preserving fungal spores through time.
Culturally, envelopes have been woven into traditions, marking moments of celebration,
mourning, and connection. Whether it's a red envelope bringing luck, a mourning envelope
signaling loss, or an intricately tied shugi-bukuro reflecting thoughtfulness,

(14:13):
they transcend function to become symbols of human experience. Ultimately, envelopes are more than
just containers. They are vessels of transformation, protection, and meaning, shaping the way we share
lives, ideas, and emotions with the world. And if you like learning about the magic of mundane
objects, please subscribe to the None But Curious podcast, leave a review,

(14:36):
or share with your friends. And until next time, my friends, stay awedinary.