Letterboxing: My Journey Towards creating my First Letterbox!


I've gotten a lot more involved in my new Letterboxing hobby, and I found a few places I'd like to plant my first Letterbox at.


One of them is a local library.

I couldn't find any contact info, so I ended up emailing the Portsmouth Public Library. 

Check out my letter, I hope they respond! -Oh, I had to "edit" parts of the Letter, if they write back, I don't want to give away any clues, lol!

Hello,

I would like to know who I could contact in regards to planting a Letterbox in my local Portsmouth Library, and possibly in other Portsmouth Libraries.

Just to give you some background on Letterboxing:

Letterboxing is an intriguing past time combining artistic ability (hand carved stamps) with delightful "treasure hunts" in interesting places. Letterboxes can be located out on nature hikes, historic places, or interesting places within one's neighborhood. Participants seek out hidden Letterboxes by following clues, and then record their discovery in their personal journal with the help of a rubber stamp that's a part of the Letterbox. In addition, Letterboxers have their own personal stamps that they use to stamp into the Letterbox's Logbook. Letterboxing dates back to the early 1800's, in Dartmoor, however, this long standing hobby has grown over the years in popularity, even spawning new hobbies like Geocaching, and Online Treasure Hunting.

If you are not familiar with Letterboxing, or would like more information, you can check out Letterboxing.org, or Atlasquest.com

I would like to place a hand-carved stamp and nicely bound journal within my local Library. I live near (BLANK), and I'd like to place one within the (BLANK) Branch library. 

I think a Letterbox in my community would be a great idea to drive other Letterboxing enthusiasts to the Portsmouth area. There are no active Letterboxes in Portsmouth. Currently, there is an extremely popular Letterbox series in the Virginia Beach Public Libraries. Letterboxers and Treasure hunters throughout Virginia travel to Virginia Beach to find these hand carved stamps and journals. I think that planting a Letterbox in a Portsmouth library would be a great attempt to bring interesting people to the Portsmouth area.

Letterbox hobbyists are extremely respectful, quiet, and many are already library patrons in their own communities.

There are many, many "Letterboxers" in the Tidewater area, and a few in Portsmouth. We would love it if you could help us create one of the first new active Letterboxes in Portsmouth, Virginia. Creating one in a library is a fantastic way to encourage people to explore the Portsmouth area, with the comfort of going to a safe, and friendly place.

Considering the recent launch of the local Portsmouth History program, I think it would be great if I could hand carve a stamp ---relating to the history of Portsmouth---- for the (BLANK) Library. As you know, this historic neighborhood was designed (SECRET INFORMATION), and the historic aspects of the neighborhood reflect this.

Please feel free to contact me via email, or phone if you would like to discuss this further. 

I would appreciate any response to this request.

-- Omi S.

757-***-****

PS: I also have a very popular Arts and Crafts blog. Should I be able to host a Letterbox within Portsmouth, the details of the Letterbox adventure and working with the Portsmouth Public Library system will be shared on my blog. This would be excellent encouragement and promotion for our local library!


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