Luxe Stationer Dempsey & Carroll to the Rescue

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Jun 22nd 2009 at 10:01AM

Last month we reported that stationer Mrs. John L. Strong, one of the world's leading boutique luxury brands whose customers included Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Oprah Winfrey and the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor, was shutting down after 80 years. Many of them were caught out short when the New York-based firm abruptly ceased all its operations; as a result the costly handcrafted metal dies and engraving plates (above) used for luxurious engraved stationery which customers had stored at Strong's for decades may never be recoverable.

Another luxury stationer, Dempsey & Carroll, is coming to the rescue. It is actually a much older establishment than Strong's, founded in 1878 by engraver John Dempsey and businessman George D. Carroll in New York. The firm soon became a society staple, providing the best in engraved cards and writing paper to the city's Gilded Age elite, a tradition continued to this day. Through the end of the year D&C is extending a special offer of reduced cost for custom engraving to all former Mrs. John L. Strong clients placing new orders, and has set about recreating their precious stationery.

Dempsey & Carroll custom stationery is created using hand-engraved steel dies and copper plates made to specification. Words and images are cut into the metal in an incuse fashion, a method similar to that used in manufacturing coins that has changed little since the 16th century process of engraving ascended to an art form. D&C is one of only a handful of stationers still using these distinctive hand-engraving techniques to create beautiful luxury paper products with their own unique stamp of history and tradition.

Tags: Anna Wintour, AnnaWintour, Dempsey Carroll, DempseyCarroll, engraved, engraving, Mrs. John L. Strong, Mrs.JohnL.Strong, New York, NewYork, oprah winfrey, OprahWinfrey, stationery