By now, I suppose most people who were unable to attend the "We Live and Breathe" 10th anniversary celebration back in September have at least heard about the letterboxing museum that was on display during the event. I really must say that it was a very cool exhibit, with contributions being sent in from around the country and from Dartmoor.

I think maybe the most exciting part of the museum was the impressive collection of PATCHES from various stages in letterboxing history. This display included many hard-to-find and one-of-a-kind patches, including contributions from the Dartmoor 100 Club, Valley Quest, World of Letterboxing, and several U.S. and Dartmoor letterboxers. A number of obsolete regional and event patches were included, in addition to various letterboxing awards and novelties.

Once we fully comprehended just how significant this collection had turned out to be, some of us members of the event planning committee decided to convert it into a permanent display which will be visiting many letterboxing events in the years to come. In fact, we're contributing quite a bit of our own money in an ongoing effort to preserve this aspect of our hobby's history and share it with others.

We've decided to call this project "The Traveling Repository of Letterboxing Patches" and we're also in the process of putting the entire collection online. We believe this historical information deserves to be made available to as many people as possible.

http://www.weliveandbreathe.com/history.htm

Of course, we don't think it's enough to merely show you the patches. We want to create a record of the stories behind them all before they are forgotten and lost forever. This is a huge undertaking, and we desperately need YOUR HELP!

Please take some time to visit our online exhibit. If you have information to go along with any of the patches, please contact me as soon as possible. In particular, we want to document the circumstances that led to the existence of each patch -- Who designed it? How was it inspired? When did it become available?

We also need to know about any patches that are missing from the collection. We need you to help us gather this historical information so it can be shared with generations of letterboxers to come. Our current goal is to have everything organized and ready for exhibition at LB CON 2009.

Thank you.

Mitch, Der Mad Stamper
- "We Live and Breathe Letterboxing" planning committee member
- Designer and co-founder of Letterboxing North America (www.letterboxing.org)

What an impressive assortment of patches! I look forward to seeing it in person at LB Con.

The Super Boxer patch was designed by me this past summer as a way to thank two letterboxers. I had been fortunate to have these two go "above and beyond" to help me out. A local boxer by the name of Cat Woman (who I've yet to meet!) twice made mulitple trips spontaneously as she gave some much needed first aid to one of my boxes. Another boxer, Red Barn Photos was kind enough to fulfill my request for some help.

The proceeds of this patch have been donated to help support AQ, LBNA and IPod. I will continue to use monies generated to help support the letterboxing community. I'd love to make the next donation to help the Traveling Repository of LB Patches prosper.

Here's a link to the Super Boxer patch:
http://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewalbum.html?gAlbumId=1128
If you have someone you'd like to thank for a good deed, please consider ordering a stamp for them.

Thanks!
Buggylou

Wow! Very impressive, Mitch! :o)

I'd be more than happy to donate a CFLLB Camp Out patch to your collection as well as fill you in on the details behind the CFLLB patch. Also, because our group is expanding throughout the state, there will be a new FLLB patch coming soon!

Thanks so much for including us in your patch history. We are honored to be a part of it!!!

:o)
3H

Kudos! This is a wonderful contribution to our hobby. The same attention to detail that went into the creation of the premier letterboxing event, We Live and Breathe, is obviously going into preserving this historic collection. Curating letterboxing history is in the most capable of hands.

Funhog

Fantastic job and great collection - The on-line exhibit is wonderful!!! ;o)

Thanks for putting it together,

The Merry Pranksters

Wow! This is wonderful! I can't wait to see them in person at LBCON!l

Wow Mitch!

I live with you and even I had no idea how much work you were putting into the layout of these patches. It reads like a great museum tour.

Also explains why I haven't been able to get near the computer for the last couple of months. ;)

wow wow wow wow!!!

DMS and crew...you all rule!!!! This is totally incredible!

Well, if that's the best you can DO...!

Seriously, that's one heck of a display! Yet ANOTHER reason to add to my "1001 Reasons I Regret Missing Live & Breathe" list. (I think that'll be # 124!)