As someone who has spent many years working with manuscripts and handwritten documents in my work life, I’m delighted to see a handsome small exhibit of similar items in this latest wonderful display at the Long Island Community Library.

“Handwriting beauty” showcases delightful examples of handwriting as found on old letters, postcards, diaries, and documents – and even recipe cards! There is even an aerogramme (remember those?).

I especially love seeing the “tools of the trade,” such as pens, inkwells, postal labels, and envelopes.

In this day and age of multiple ways of communicating (texts, e-mails, telephones) and instant gratification, it’s lovely to reminisce about the days when the letter was a common way to keep in touch, and receiving a newsy missive in the mail was thrilling (even today people love to get “real mail”).

Lenders to the exhibit include Meredith Sweet, Towanda Brown, Joe and Rennie Donovan, Dick Mitchell, Kathy Kellerman, Ellen Harford, and Karen Boss (the curator).