GRATITUDE

Say it in Writing

A short while ago a former colleague came by for dinner and very quickly after that a handwritten note arrived - even though it came by snail mail. It was in an envelope which had on it a stamp and, did I say, it was handwritten. Enumerated within, at some length, were expressions of gratitude for the drinks consumed, the food eaten and the hospitality received. They contained no emojis and there were no sentences such as this: “Thx 4 a gr8 din. Xxx.” Even though he is of Irish ancestry it is obvious he comes from good breeding since he had produced, what used to be known as a “thank you note”. 

     I had been thinking about thank you notes because I rarely produce one and was feeling bad about that. Particularly bad since a couple of relatives still promptly produce them. I was also thinking about them because I rarely receive any and often don’t know, for example, if gifts shipped were ever received. Still, I am not sure the subject of thank you notes would be taking up my valuable time and yours, as well as this valuable space, were it not for the fact that an article just appeared in the New York Times, bearing this headline: “You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write.”

     In short, as that headline says, we should write thank you notes and not simply send tweets or messages. We will feel good when we do so and the people who receive them will greatly appreciate our expressions of gratitude. If you are not convinced by me or the Time’s article you should know that it is based upon a study done by a couple of psychologists and  is not more fake news. The study: “Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation,”Psychological Science, June 2018.

Cursive and the "Collins"

   While putting down the material above I was reminded of the “Collins”. That is another name for, what is also known as a “bread and butter letter” and it is based upon a character in Pride and Prejudice. I became aware of the “Collins” because such letters and the agony involved in penning them were the subject of an essay in The Times and I discovered it when writing about “Fourth Leaders”. 

     The title of this particular “Fourth Leader” is “The Abhorred “Collins””, and it can be found in The Times on Feb. 23, 1914. The author writes about the difficulty of coming up with a “Collins” upon return from a visit to a country estate.  Think of the type of letter one might write to the Crawley family at Downton Abbey. In composing a “Collins” one has to worry about such things as being too effusive, or perhaps not appearing to have enjoyed enough the Beef Wellington. The strain of writing a perfect “Collins” was the reason for the use of the word “Abhorred” in the title and it was almost enough to make one refuse an invitation.

    Not everyone agreed with the author and The Times  published this letter of objection two days later. Here it is; a case made for the writing of thank you notes from over 100 years ago:

Sir: May I sound another, and differing, note on this subject? Are we not all growing less and less inclined to show gratitude for our friends’ hospitality and sympathy?

   Surely it is a very little thing to write a note of courteous thanks for entertainment, and yet this would seem to many people too great a trouble. One has only to recall the scrupulous courtesy of Mr. Gladstone to be reminded of another and better fashion than that which obtains today. The smallest service performed by another on our behalf ought to be acknowledged. But unfortunately it is the exception rather than the rule for this to be done. Boys and girls, young people, and older folks ought to find it no hardship, but a pleasure, to express gratitude either for the hospitality, or gifts, or service.  The detestable habit after the decease of a relative or friend of inserting four of five lines of thanks for sympathetic letters is only another instance of the growing sloth of people. As some one said the other day, it would take only a few hours to write briefly to each friend who has shown sympathy. The same criticism applies to the printed card with its chilly formula, applicable equally to the merest stranger as to the most intimate friend.

    We all pretend to be “too busy” for these old fashioned courtesies, but in reality it is just a matter, I believe, of thoughtlessness and lack of gratitude. “Think” and “thank” are allied terms. Let us revert to the days of sincere gratitude and express it when we have received hospitality.” Yours truly, David Williamson, The Times, Feb. 25, 1914.

    We should all write thank you notes with pen and paper. Given that I rarely do what I say I am going to do, I plan to buy the instrument pictured above. It is a MontBlanc Meisterstuck and it costs more than some computers ($825 US).  Such an investment should serve to motivate me, even if it won’t improve my penmanship. My birthday is in August, so I better start practicing soon. 

Sources:

"You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write," Heather Murphy, New York Times, July 20, 2018.

For my earlier post on "Fourth Leaders" see here.

CULLINAN

Cullinan is the name of a town in South Africa and it is also the name of a very large diamond which was found there. Now it is also the name of an automobile manufactured by Rolls-Royce and an inordinate number of them can be found in Vancouver. That city was chosen for the launch recently of this tough and expensive SUV. Six were sold on the first day. Each costs about $400,000.
Sometimes the assumptions we make turn out to be true. When visiting Vancouver one quickly gets the impression that the city has more than its fair share of fine vehicles, many of them driven by Asians who look to be adolescents. The fact that they are indeed young is verified somewhat when there is a large N affixed to the rear of the $250,000 car (indicating that a 'Novice" is behind the wheel). According to a Roll's dealer, over 70% of his customers are Asian, One of them has 14 Rolls- Royces. Many clients are female and many of those under 30 buy either the Wraith coupe or the Dawn convertible.
  To park such thoroughbreds a new car condo is being constructed. They will be secure in the gated building which supposedly provides good views and air conditioning. According the the Chinese-English website, 80% of the units are booked.

UBC - The University of Beautiful Cars

     When they are not driving around the city, some may be studying at UBC where such large numbers of exotic cars have been spotted that the initials of that university have been altered.  The one above is a McLaren and I can assure you that it is more expensive than any vehicle made by Mitsubishi.

Sources:

     "Rich Moms and Millennials Make Canada Hot for Rolls-Royce," Natalie Obiko Pearson, Bloomberg News, June 6,2018.

     "With the New Cullinan, Rolls-Royce Reveals a Diamond in the Rough," Brendan McAleer, The Globe and Mail, May 28, 2018.

     There are a couple of websites about the University of Beautiful Cars. See for example:

http://universityofbeautifulcars.tumblr.com/u

Post Script

     Such expensive vehicles are causing problems for the provincial insurer. Minor fender-benders cause major expenditures.

     I suppose the marketing people at Rolls were not overly worried about the postcolonial implications of choosing a name which is derived from the diamond magnate - Thomas Cullinan.

    I would imagine that Western would be lower in the car ranking category than UBC.  I remember , however, conversations here in London about the luxury vehicles noted on the campus parking lots, particularly at one of the affiliated colleges.  My impression is that Western is quite strong on this scale and that impression was buttressed when I came out of Weldon Library on a Sunday this spring and a car like this one was parked next to mine. I had to go home and look it up to identify it.

COLES CANADIANA COLLECTION

Coles Books

     Loyal readers will know that I have referred to and quoted from Major W. Ross King’s, The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada: Or Notes on the Natural History of the Game, Game Birds and Fish of that Country which was published in 1866. Western University has a copy from that year, but I borrowed the reprint from 1974 which is the facsimile edition from the Coles Publishing Company and one of the titles in their Coles Canadiana Collection.

Coles Bookstores

     Oldsters will remember the stores as being gaudier than Chapters. Coles was for books somewhat like Lastman’s Bad Boy Superstore is now for furniture. When ‘The World’s Biggest Bookstore’ was opened in Toronto, William French offered this description: “As in all Coles stores, the lighting is brilliant enough to permit a surgeon to perform a cornea transplant right in the aisle, if he weren't too distracted by the rippling red neon and flashing white bulbs that frame some of the display stands, or by the chanteuse who was trilling a ballad on the piped-in music.” 

Coles Canadiana Collection

         

     Apart from the stores you will probably most remember the Notes. But, Coles did publish older historical and literary works such as those pictured above. In promoting one of the earlier titles, Sketches of Upper Canada, by John Howison, Esq., an advertisement in the Globe and Mail (April 25, 1970) states: “Introducing Coles Canadian Collection - Exact Duplicates of Valuable Old Canadian Books! “Here is an amazing series different from anything you have ever seen before. Rare old Canadian books have been faithfully reproduced by modern scientific printing methods, capturing all the fragile age and charm of the originals. Even the mature aging of the paper has been duplicated exactly.”

Coles Notes

   

These are surely recognized  and are likely still used by the youngsters (perhaps not the one about the slide rule). They would have sold well even if called "Colofsky Notes" (Jack and Carl’s real name).


Sources:
     For a good account of Coles Canadiana Collection see:
“Vintage Toronto Ads: Gems of Canadiana (and Toronto the Good): Before the Internet Archive, the Coles Canadiana Collection Revived out-of-print Historical Works," Jamie Bradburn, Torontoist, Feb. 14, 2012.

‘The World's Biggest Bookstore Clearly Lacks a Certain Element of Breeding and Class: World's Biggest Bookstore a Tale of Modern Retailing," William French, The Globe and Mail, Nov. 11, 1980.
     In an earlier column, French discussed the new trend of publishing old books and notes that “the leading practitioner of resurrection is the Edmonton publisher, Mel Hurtig, who now has about a dozen titles in his Canadiana Reprint Series and hopes to add at least six every year, if he doesn’t run out of attics and archives. The Hurtig series concentrates on exploration of the West and the Arctic. It includes such titles as Alexander Henry’s Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Northwest Territories Between the Years 1760 and 1776: and Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America, by Paul Kane.” “Books & Bookmen”, The Globe and Mail, Jan. 10, 1970

French retired as literary editor in 1990 and was not replaced. “About 3,000 Book Reviews Later, William French Retires,” H.J. Kirchhoff, G&M, April 5, 1990.


Canadiana Reprint Series (Hurtig)


Obituaries:
Carl Cole: "Founded Giant Chain of Book Stores: Carl Cole," G&M Dec. 15, 1994

Jack Cole: “Toronto Bookseller Famous for Coles Notes: Jack Cole," G&M, Jan. 25, 1997
"His real name Jack Colofsky. Opened the World’s Biggest Bookstore in 1980."

“Lives Lived: Jack Cole,” Roger Robin, G&M, Feb. 13, 1997
“ His goal was to make a fortune, but there was something more. He wanted to beat “them” at their own game, whether they were pompous literati genuflecting before books, or whiny Canadian publishers begging for grants, or dull competitors flogging tired tactics. Jack was the P.T. Barnum of the book business, always ready to learn from the folly of others.”

Post Script:

 It is interesting to recall that back in the last century one couldn’t shop on Sundays, even for books. In the early 1990s the Ontario legislation became a little more liberal and allowed small bookstores to be open if they were really small and employed less than three staff. This meant that the large Coles stores could not open and Coles objected. See: “Coles Asks Shoppers to Join Protest,” Stephen Smith, G&M, Aug. 14, 1991.

While King’s Sportsman and Naturalist… was published by Coles, his earlier book has recently been re-issued by the Cambridge University Press. Campaigning in Kaffirland, or, Scenes and Adventures in the Kaffir War of 1851–2 is now available and should be of value to those in Postcolonial Studies who need more evidence of the damage done by imperialism.