Learn about Monograms

Monogramming: History and Etiquette

Many people recognize a monogram as initials or a set of letters combined to make one sign of identity.  What many people do not know is how the monogram came to be used and the proper way to create or read one.

Historically, a monogram was used as a royal signature.  Romans and Greeks used them on coins to identify their rulers. Then, in the Middle Ages, artisans began to use them to sign their work.  Victorian-period high-class persons adapted the monogram for personal use as a symbol of their place in society.  Now, monograms can be seen on just about anything:  bags, shoes, purses, clothes, personal stationary, and, of course, towels.  Towels are perhaps the most popular of these examples.  Newlyweds will often choose new towels and the monogram to be embroidered. 

One can look almost anywhere and find a monogram.  Luxury car companies sometimes monogram the leather seats of their vehicles, monograms are sometimes used as company logos, and people walk around with monogrammed jewelry and bags all the time.

In the Victorian era, rules for monograms were quite simple and few.  Female monograms had the first initial on the left, middle initial on the right, and last initial embroidered larger in the middle.  But the rules are hardly simple anymore.  A monogram can be playful, whimsical, flamboyant, traditional, elegant, or understated;   the number of choices today is almost infinite.  Many still choose to use the traditional Victorian female model, but now there is a traditional male model of first, middle, last, all in the same size, and there are numerous styles to choose from.  Here are some examples:

A monogram can be a whole name or just initials.  Rules are now flexible, but for the purist, there are a few standards.  First of all, monograms with three initials are generally in the Victorian format of first initial, large last initial, middle initial.  Then there is the male monogram of same-size letters first, middle, last initials.  Married monograms usually consist of the bride’s first initial on the left, the groom’s first initial on the right, and the joint last name initial larger in the center, similar to the Victorian female version.  A married woman would use her first name initial on the left, maiden initial on the right, then new last initial larger in the center.

A Dying Art

There’s just something about writing a letter.  You choose your finest pen, select your favorite personalized stationery, and your mind kicks into high gear, trying to find just the right words to artfully express whatever it is you want to say.

There’s just nothing to typing an email.  No matter how hard you try, it isn’t the same as composing by hand.  You kick your mind into high gear, trying to find just the right words to artfully express whatever it is you want to say, but it is never as personal.

Writing a letter is intimate and caring, thoughtful and gratifying, fun and creative.  Moods change with the urgency of quick strokes to the slow, careful, perfectly-created letters of a thoughtful passage.  An email can’t show that.  Handwriting always tells the truth, even if it’s a lie—an expert can read you from the page.  Typed letters seem cold in comparison.

Receiving a letter is even better.  You stroll to your mailbox, open it, and pull out bill after bill after advertisement until you see a creamy white envelope with your name carefully handwritten on the front.  You smile, check the return address, and smile harder.  You know that this person took time out of her day to sit down and compose something meant only for you.

An email just isn’t the same.  You stroll to your computer, open your inbox, and amidst the spam and the work you notice a familiar name—a message from a friend.  It makes you smile, but then you see “fwd.”  You are just a name in a long, cold list of recipients.  Feeling like a number, not a person, you frown slightly and press “delete.”

Taking the time to write a letter is a wonderful, beautiful way to show someone you care.  Receiving a letter is a meaningful experience.  So, lift your finest pen, select your favorite personalized stationery, and sit down for a few minutes of calm and focus.  You can create a work of art.