Letterboxing
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- For the process of transferring a widescreen image to video in a widescreen ratio see letterbox.
Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art and problem-solving.
Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites (see below). However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a logbook, an often hand-carved ink stamp and an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal logbook, and leave an impression of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook — as proof of having found the box. Many letterboxers keep careful track of their "find count."
Modern-day letterboxing's origins can be traced to Dartmoor, England, in 1854, when hikers on the moors began to leave a letter or postcard inside a box along the trail (sometimes addressed to themselves, sometimes a friend or relative) -- hence the name "letterboxing." The next person to discover the site would collect the postcards and mail them. The first Dartmoor letterboxes were so remote and well-hidden that only the most determined walkers ended up finding them, allowing weeks to pass before the letter made its way home. Increasingly, however, they have been located in relatively accessible sites. As a result, the tradition of leaving a letter or postcard in the box has been forgotten.
Clues to their locations on Dartmoor are traditionally distributed in print format in the Dartmoor 100 Club (http://www.walk.to/letterboxing)'s regularly-updated catalog; in the U.S., clues are published on the Letterboxing North America (http://www.letterboxing.org) and other web sites. Letterboxes are sited in other locations in England, the main areas being The New Forest, Hampshire, and The North York Moors, Yorkshire. Interest in letterboxing in the United States is generally considered to have started with a feature article in the April 1998 Smithsonian Magazine (http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues98/apr98/letterboxing.html).
See also
Further reading
- Anne Swinscow has written several popular guide books on Dartmoor Letterboxing, e.g. Dartmoor Letterboxes ISBN 0950911429
- The Letterboxer's Companion by Randy Hall (ISBN 0762727942) was published in 2003 and focuses on letterboxing in North America.
External links
Letterboxing North America (http://www.letterboxing.org)
Atlas Quest (http://www.atlasquest.com)
Dartmoor Letterboxing (http://www.dartmoorletterboxing.org)