- To: undisclosed-recipients:;
- Subject: riff on this?
- From: Christopher DeWan <cdewan@relaypoint.net>
- Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 12:02:16 -0700
I've been trying to come up with a nice, minimal distinctive logo-- esp. one I can put on a map, but maybe for the t-shirts, etc. too. Since we've already started a postal theme, I'm pretty excited about tying the Edge Fest logo to the post horn-- the symbol that marks mailboxes across Europe. I discovered the horn in Pynchon's *Crying of Lot 49*, in which it's a symbol for a private, anti-government postal conspiracy (or is it?), but it's got some interesting history behind it:
"The horn was used in wartime to give the signal to attack, to alert citizens to danger, or to round up herds. With time, messengers began to use the horn in cities to announce the arrival of the mail.
"Use of the horn soon became obligatory for the position. But what made the horn so popular was its constant use over several centuries. Today the horn is the postal emblam of many countries."
A lot of this imagery struck me as useful, but especially theatregoers seeing the horn as a badge for the festival theatres. (We talked about hanging a festival banner outside easch theatre during the week of the festival.) I also like the idea that we're communicating, trumpeting out loud-- and I like the Y2K tie-in with the trumpeting of the apocalypse. . . .
Any thoughts?
- C
Also, from MS Encarta Online:
Post Horn, European lip-vibrated musical
instrument, member of the brass family of
instruments, originally used to announce
the arrivals and departures of mail
coaches. The earliest examples were
bow-shaped, but beginning in the 17th
century they were usually fashioned into a
coil. By the end of the 18th century, the
post horn had three coils and a great
variety of notes. In the 19th century,
crooks, keys, and valves were added to
facilitate playing melodies.
And some sample horns:
