THE ROAMING WORLD LETTERBOX SERIES:
Milo’s Bookshelf (New York, NY)
The Knotsmith Scavenger (Governor’s Island, NY)
Vulpine’s Magic Supply (Annapolis, MD)
The Smuggler’s Lemons (Surf City, NC)
Ice Cream Battlefield (Surf City, NC)
Nutcracker Jack (Kansas City, MO)
Hobby Horse (Topsail Beach, NC)
Surroyal Books (Annapolis, MD)
The Roundabout Menagerie (Elysburg, PA)
5 Westing Alley (Glen Rock, NJ)
Marymead Intermediate House (Brooklyn, NY)
Haunteled Camelopard (Lancaster, PA)
The Fox Princess (Fort Smith, AR)
Whilforber’s Shipyard (Chestertown, MD)
The Magician’s Candelabra (Annapolis, MD)
Majolie Cake Tray (Brooklyn, NY)
Glass Apple Bell (Florence, MA)
Art Nouveau Seiche (Acton, MA)
Ottomy Stalls (Ocean Pines, MD)
The Holloway Lamp (Personal Traveler)
The Curious Sleuths (Hitchhiker)
Creve Coeur Bindery (Event Box)
One wonderful November, a parent at a book fair introduced me to letterboxing, which she described as being something like geocaching, only with stamps. If that means nothing to you, do what she told me to do and go to atlasquest.com and find out all about it. But basically, people make stamps (the kind you use with an ink pad), they hide them around the world, and you find clues online that lead you to find those tiny hidden bits of art.
When you find one, you use the found stamp to make an impression in a personal logbook you carry with you. Then you leave an impression of your own personal stamp which you carry with you in a logbook that lives with the hidden stamp. Finally, you re-hide the stamp and its logbook for the next letterboxer to find.
Voila! It’s like a treasure hunt, and the treasure is a tiny bit of art!
I’ve begun to hide stamps with images related to Nagspeake and the wider shared world of my books. There are only a small handful so far, but more are coming. They’re hidden out there in our world, and if you find one, you’ll find a stamp hand-carved by me, along with a very short bit of Roaming World lore that you’ll find in the letterboxes and nowhere else. (And please, if you seek out these letterboxes, play nice and don’t copy or repost what you find.)
Here’s how to play!
- Go to Atlas Quest and read a little bit about letterboxing. It’s absolutely addictive, and is really fun to do with kids, but there are some guidelines to follow.
- Get yourself a logbook, an inkpad, and a stamp you’ll use for your personal stamp. (Store-bought is fine, or you can carve your own.)
- Go hunting! Be sneaky! Don’t forget to put the stamp you find back when you’re done. Hide it well! DO NOT copy or share the Nagspeake lore you discover (and leave it with the stamp in the box for the next person to find).