Letter Writing:writing On The Backside Of The Paper?

[ribbit]

I know I'm not supposed to, but I do write on the back of paper when I'm writing normal letters. I wouldn't for a super formal letter. My paper is good quality so there is no bleed through. I just hate to 'waste' an extra sheet particularly if I'm all most done and won't fill it.

[Sassafras]

I know I'm not supposed to, but I do write on the back of paper when I'm writing normal letters. I wouldn't for a super formal letter. My paper is good quality so there is no bleed through. I just hate to 'waste' an extra sheet particularly if I'm all most done and won't fill it.

 

I write on the back too. I didn't know there was a rule you shouldn't unless it was a formal essay, which my letters certainly aren't. I base whether or not I write on the back on any bleed through and it affecting legibility.

[inkspot]

I write on the back as well. I paid good money for that paper, and it seems a waste to use only half of the available writing surface. Besides, I like to think that there are a few trees out there that would thank me, too

 

I do, however, always end my letters on a single-sided sheet. That allows me to fold them up nicely and seal them without any writing showing or being obscured by my seal.

[GreenVelvet]

I almost always write on the back unless there is bleed-through.

[Miranda]

It hadn't occurred to me not to write on the back, given that I use good quality paper. It just seems wasteful otherwise

[ribbit]

Yeah, when I read about the 'no writing on the back' etiquette rule I went, umm, still gonna do it anyways.

[Halden]

Unless there is bleed I use the back

[Chris Chalmers]

Twice as much writing for the cost of the stamp!

[rogerb]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no!

I do it if I have a LOT to write and don't want the envelope to be too fat....but I hear my mother turning in her grave at the idea

I prefer not to, but am not obsessive about it.

[Vulcan1066]

I usually dont as I seal my letters with wax and want to be able to fold them nicely. I am not worried about the trees as I use 100% cotton paper.

[desertsquid]

I do this too. And now that I know it's against the rules I'll do so with even greater relish!

[AndiN]

Considering that I started using fountain pens in the first place to be more eco-friendly by no longer tossing disposable pens in landfills, I absolutely write on the back side of the page. Heck, when I was younger, my friends and I even wrote on the envelope! Probably drove the mail carriers nuts. (I don't do that anymore.)

[Paddler]

The rule probably came from the day when there were no envelopes.

Also, back then, you had to cut your pen from a feather quill. That can be tricky. It is very easy to cut a nib that floods the paper with a lot of ink. Bleed through was a problem (witness the container of sand on a writer's desk).

 

Paddler

[oldstoat]

When paper was expensive for letter writing writers would not only use both sides but write horizontally and vertically to economise, as this letter from Jane Austenshows

[rogerb]

For me ...and I realise this is just my opinion... filling every available sq cm of paper with writing just looks 'cramped', and is harder to read.

 

If you find stationery very expensive, then I understand .... nice paper is not cheap ... but I just like to have a bit of space around my writing.

 

And, of course, I am a bit 'programmed', by my mother's insistence that it was/is 'the correct way' .... not a consideration of which I have always taken much notice, I should add

 

(In a similar way, I find it more difficult to read forum posts and emails which aren't spaced-out a bit).

[Cedar]

I hate wasting paper so I keep every little scrap that I can still scribble a note on or try an ink or pen. They are tucked all over the dang place just because I bobbled the pen or spelling or the ink bled or the dog or cat spilled Oolong on it. I can't even keep track of all those little scraps or some full pages. However, sometimes I just feel like splurging and writing on a nice, smooth, clean and bright piece of paper. And I do. It feels like such a luxury.

 

Cedar

[MrClegg]

I do it if I have a LOT to write and don't want the envelope to be too fat....but I hear my mother turning in her grave at the idea

 

Etiquette covers "too fat" envelopes as well, I've read that it is considered excessive to write more than two pages, it implies a certain over-familiarity with the recipient. And a definite "not done" to a single female.

I imagine your Mother might also turn in her grave at the cost of postage and good paper!

 

when I was younger, my friends and I even wrote on the envelope! Probably drove the mail carriers nuts.

 

When I was in the Falklands we had to pay for mail or use the free "blueies" those one sheet airmail letters. I developed incredible small handwriting and filled every available inch of space, not sure why because they were free!

Almost every letter I send today has a home made envelope, bright and interesting, even I sometimes look at them and wonder if the postal services will be able to work out where it is meant to go! But it's an interest extra to a letter!

 

 

... back then, you had to cut your pen from a feather quill. That can be tricky. It is very easy to cut a nib that floods the paper with a lot of ink.

 

Paddler

 

You wrote that as if you have intimate experience of those times. I know there are some senior citizens on FPN but I doubt any of them remember when cutting quills was the norm.

 

And finally Ester... (you need to have watched 70's UK television to get that!)

 

... or the dog or cat spilled Oolong on it.

 

Cedar

 

What is Oolong, apart from an excessive overuse of the letter "o"?

 

Cyril

 

P.S. I consider answering multiple emails in one is the electronic equivalent of writing on both sides.

Edited January 22, 2011 by MrClegg

[rogerb]

Hi Mr C

 

"I imagine your Mother might also turn in her grave at the cost of postage and good paper! "

 

She would probably say something like "Ah, well you cannot put a price on good manners"

 

Oolong is 'posh tea' ...s'posed to have health-giving benefits! I've never tried it.

[Ethereal Winter Wind]

... or the dog or cat spilled Oolong on it.

 

Cedar

 

What is Oolong, apart from an excessive overuse of the letter "o"?

 

Cyril

 

P.S. I consider answering multiple emails in one is the electronic equivalent of writing on both sides.

 

I believe Oolong is a type of tea.

[MrClegg]

Oolong is 'posh tea' ...s'posed to have health-giving benefits! I've never tried it.

 

Ah that would make sense, I'm guessing it isn't much like Lapsang Sushong tea because other than a usually overpowering smokey flavour I doubt it has any health benefits over any other tea.

I've heard of Pu Erh as being a healthly tea but I can't say I like it much.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Craig - not really Cyril!