New business reply envelope artwork used in mailings from four nonprofits
After traveling out of state late last month, my family and I are back home again, and it’s time to catch up on some of the mail that arrived during our time away. Today, we’ll take a look at four different business reply envelopes that came in mailings from various nonprofit organizations.
Let’s begin with this large envelope from Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. The three preprinted stamp-sized designs located to the left of the “No Postage Necessary” inscription depict a reindeer, a mitten, and a log cabin, respectively.
Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch business reply envelope with preprinted Christmas designs
Next up is a BRE distributed by Environmental Defense Fund. The three designs, all of which are printed in blue, depict a butterfly with the word “future”; a bear with the word “hope”; and Earth with the word “love.”
Environmental Defense Fund business reply envelope with preprinted butterfly, bear, and Earth designs
The third envelope from today’s collection came from Shriners Children’s, and bears three different illustrations picturing a snowman, a fir tree with snowflakes, and a stack of gift boxes.
Shriners Children’s business reply envelope with preprinted Christmas designs
And finally, we have a small business reply envelope from Operation Smile. This one has three stamp-sized illustrations depicting a penguin, a star with the word “joy,” and a Christmas tree.
Shriners Children’s business reply envelope with preprinted Christmas designs
The penguin and Christmas tree illustrations are, so far as I can determine, new to Operation Smile BREs, but I first saw the the “Joy” design with simulated die cuts on an envelope distributed in a September 2024 mailing.
Feed the Children turns to United States flag for business reply envelope imagery
My daughter and I went to check the olde post office box today, and there was a big stack of nonprofit mailings inside, as well as a few more in our home mailbox. In all, there were half a dozen business reply envelopes with preprinted stamp-sized designs on them.
Five of the envelopes used repeats of artwork I’ve seen on other BREs from the same organizations, but one from Feed the Children had four copies of a United States flag design with simulated perforations.
Feed the Children business reply envelope with preprinted United States flag designs
Despite the lack of inscriptions on any of the designs, they kind of remind me of the United States definitive coil stamps issued from 2002 through 2005. Interesting stuff.
Boys Town distributes business reply envelope with new Christmas-themed artwork
September is absolutely flying past. I haven’t had a great deal of time to play around with my collection, but I have at least been keeping up with the flow of incoming mail, and this business reply envelope arrived in a mailing from Boys Town late last week.
Boys Town business reply envelope with preprinted Christmas designs
As the image of the envelope shows, there are four preprinted stamp-sized designs with simulated printed perforations. They depict an elf with a gift; a cardinal with a lantern; a snowman with gifts; and a Christmas tree ornament.
Although nonprofits have for years sometimes affixed small amounts of United States postage to the business reply envelopes they distribute in an effort to boost response rates, Boys Town was a pioneer in using cinderella stamps affixed to their BREs before transitioning to designs preprinted directly on the envelopes.
As I’ve mentioned previously, given a choice, I would opt to receive envelopes with distinct cinderellas affixed, but even the preprinted stuff adds a bit of color to the contents of the mail I receive.
St. Joseph’s Indian School prints faux postage on BRE and outer cover
My wife received a rather unusual piece of nonprofit mail from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota, earlier this week, and it caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First, at 14″×11″ in size, this envelope is really large for a nonprofit mailing.
Oversized St. Joseph’s Indian School cover
Second, there are three stamp-sized images picturing a sunflower, a leaf, and an illustration of apples where you would expect postage to be affixed.
Preprinted sunflower, leaf, and apple designs on St. Joseph’s Indian School cover
In addition to a variety of inexpensive tools and trinkets, the mailing also included a business reply envelope with three identical copies of a preprinted stamp-sized design captioned “Wild Flowers.”
St. Joseph’s Indian School business reply envelope with preprinted flower designs
I have to admit that the outer cover was a bit of a surprise. If you’ve been following along for any length of time, you know this isn’t the first envelope with imitation postage printed on it that my household has received, but such items seem to be much less common than their BRE cousins. It’s an interesting piece, and I doubt many like it will be saved.
This update contains spaces for all United States postage stamps issued from June through August, as well as this year’s federal hunting permit or duck stamp, and the new pages are ready for you to download and print at your convenience.
As always, thank you for your support and your interest in The Philosateleian!
