Letter Openers

Today, messages are often sent by SMS, albeit faster but definitely less romantic than writing a letter. Anybody who has in the past opened a handwritten letter, perhaps even a love letter, with a preciously decorated instrument lying lightly in the hand might easily become a collector of such tools - known as letter openers. But collecting is very often reserved to institutions such as museums, libraries or archives, which collect professionally and on behalf of the public. In addition, there is an army of private collectors who sometimes even surpass the quality of comparable public collections due to their commitment, their knowledge and their passion. This is especially true for the world's largest collection of letter openers. This book presents some particularly relevant exemplary pieces of the respective collection, giving an indication as to the wide spectrum of the entire collection of over 2718 letter openers. Any viewer of this endless rows of letter openers is fascinated not only by the great variety, but also by the quality of the materials, workmanship and design of these tools, which have been in use now for many decades. Letter openers made of precious materials such as gold, silver and ivory, are true pieces of art lying on a desk.

Autorentext
Kurt F. Büchel:Dr. Kurt F. Büchel is the world renowned collector of letter openers and has been acknowledged as owner of the world's largest collection of letter openers with more than 2.700 pieces. His collection contains an enormous amount of pieces of art from various periods. In his book he presents a glimpse of this vast collection with detailed information on each piece presented.