When in doubt, draw on the box.
It's silly, I know, but one of my favorite parts of the rare book process is drawing weird stuff on the USPS priority mail boxes.
I've gotten decent at my "Shannon" flamingo, and can ink a mean set of tentacles.
Sometimes I hear from readers and find out they saved the box art, sticking it on the shelf with the book because they couldn't stand to toss it in the trash. That never fails to make me smile. You know what also never fails to make me smile? The look on the postman/woman's face when they pull the package out of my mailbox. They've learned now to always flip them over and check out the designs on the back.
It's silly, I know, but I think there's something deeper going on when we send a box with art on it. The problem though, is I don't exactly know what that is.
Why does art on shipping boxes appeal to me so much? And why must that art be handmade?
A quick search reveals a lot of people like to personalize these banal white, blue, and red cardboard containers. I'm not alone. Here's a video of Jeff Claassen turning a USPS mailer into a work of art.
But why do we do this? And why does it make us so happy?
Why does it make us smile when we receive such a package in the mail? What part of the brain is this tickling?
I really don't know. I do know that Tom Hanks' character did it in Cast Away, or, more accurately, someone else did the art and Tom just couldn't seem to bring himself to damage it.
Were those wings a symbol of freedom, or just a message to the universe about how awesome shipping box art is?
Tom had no problem ripping into all the other FedEx boxes and using whatever he found, but for some reason he kept that one sacred.
Why?
Don't worry. Tom's going to ravage the hell out of those boxes because they have no art. They are sad and disappointing boxes. Shameful.
I like to think there's something about drawing on a box, something deeply human. I think it speaks to that monkey brain. I think it says something about the person who shipped the thing to us. I think it means they care, and that they place a lot of respect on what sits inside the box.
I know I do.
I also know that corporations keep trying to hone in on this by offering up some clip art idiocy on their shipping boxes. We don't fall for it because it has no soul. It's machine-applied, mass-market nonsense that pretends to appeal to our monkey brain but fails miserably.
It is the mimic of shipping box art.
So, for whatever reason, be it happy monkey brain, adding whimsy to a world with little to go around, or just because I can and it's fun, I put art on my boxes. I send that art out into the world to put smiles on the faces of postal workers, delivery people, and you, the rare book reader.
Speaking of which, another rare book is on its way out into the world. It's time to fire up the sharpie and make some smiles.
Have an art-filled day!
Martin
Photo by Stephen Harlan on Unsplash
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