Columns have the most important secondary objective of all things.
The column should be beautiful. Once the being beautiful is achieved, the column is free to pursue its other interests, such as holding up buildings, which is also a very noble occupation. The composite column celebrated here combines the elegance of the Ionic with the ornament of the Corinthian. The volute and the acanthus leaf are unalterably evocative – the delightful spirit of the antique sea, delicacy and strength, the light of reason and the shade of beauty.
Perhaps someone is possessed of gracefully classical proportions; perhaps someone is a great support and an object of appreciation; perhaps you require an apt medium to decline (with good manners) a misguided invitation to a toga party: write them a letter.
"Column"
Quotation
Here, where a hero fell, a column falls:
Here, where the mimic eagle glared in gold,
A midnight vigil holds the swarthy bat:
Here, where the dames of Rome their yellow hair
Wav’d to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle:
Here, where on ivory couch the Cæsar sate,
On bed of moss lies gloating the foul adder:
Here, where on golden throne the monarch loll’d,
Glides spectre-like unto his marble home,
Lit by the wan light of the horned moon,
The swift and silent lizard of the stones.
- Edgar Allan Poe
Column Fact
After Alexander’s conquest of the world and the dawning of the Hellenistic Age, the classical orders of architecture travelled with the Greek speakers that used them. The Ionic order seems to have done best: some examples of Ionic architecture can be found in Jandial in Pakistan, and Ionic influences have been noted in buildings as far away as the banks of the Ganges, in the city of Patna. The composite column was not accessible to Alexander’s Greeks, the oldest surviving example of its use is in the Arch of Titus (Anno Salutis LXXXI).
Product Information
Product includes:
- One letterhead (125gsm).
- One envelope (125gsm).
- One second class stamp for every five letterheads purchased.
Delivery
We charge £2.50 to deliver small orders. Orders of 15 or more letterheads qualify for free delivery.
