Soon I will be entering the world of homeownership! My first real house, with a mortgage and everything. My co-workers at the branch surprised me today with a little house warming shower, and they gave me all sorts of great gifts, ranging from cleaning supplies to a Foreman grill. I was genuinely touched by their gesture, and I believe thank you notes are in order.

So I'd like to write the letters on my new stationary using just a normal M nib, but I have this great italic nib on my Lamy Palladium I'd like to sign my name with. I currently have DC Supershow Blue in most of my M pens, but Noodlers Black in my Lamy. My question:

Is it tacky to have the body of the letter in one ink color and the signature in another?

I'm not sure if their is a real rule of etiquette on this, but either way I'd love to hear your opinions.

Congrats on homeownership. A new hobby.
I'd prefer one color for a thank you note.
The purpose is to say thanks
Displaying different colors or different lines strays from the puropse.
Keep it simple for thank you notes.

My view is, yes, it would be. I think it's not just a matter of different inks, but of different pens. Let me explain...

Before there were typewriters, letters would be written longhand by clerks for their manager to sign, usually with his own pen. There would thus be a noticeable difference between the text of the letter and the signature.

When the manager wanted to honour a customer with more personal attention, he would write the letter in full himself, as though it were personal correspondence. Seeing the signature matched the text of the letter (same ink, same pen, same hand) would tell the customer he was especially valued.

Aesthetically, I would prefer the simple approach, too. Write and sign with the same pen. The more you try to dress up these notes the more you detract from the essential purpose, which is to say thank you.

Just my opinion of course. I'll read those of others with interest.

Ray

Using different inks / pens makes it seem as if the note were written by one person and signed by another, not a desirable effect for s personal a communication.

William

Another on the same side. A thank-you note is neither an engrossed certificate nor a business letter. Pencil would be better than two different pens.

Beautiful! Thanks so much for the input, I'll keep it to one pen, one ink.

I would use whichever pen is more fun to write the notes. If you love the italic, use it for the whole note!

I will chime in with a different opinion, though, in that people will be so astonished that you actually sent a thank you note that they will not mind at all if you have two different colors of ink. But it seems slightly backwards to me to have the body of the note in the brighter color and the signature in black. I wouldn't go so far as to say "tacky," myself. Just a bit odd.

When I read this quote, I thought, "That's hitting the nail on the head."

Then I remembered the anachronism thread in Chatter, and thought about how it may be that fountain pen people might not think so favorably of some innovation like signing in a different color.

But I'm not going to be the first one to do it.

If I were receiving the note I might think it was a bit odd, but I might also be struck by the visual aspect - the interesting choices of color, and I might also be flattered that the writer not only took the time to bother to write a note, but actually changed pens to make it "purty."

Then again - Miss Manners I'm not.