Against Labels

Dear Reader,

Sometimes I write to you about the parlous state of our democracy, other times about the travails of the pandemic. This month, I write to you about a matter of absolutely no importance to the future of the republic. My subject is peel-off magazine mailing labels.

Please stay with me here. First, take a look at the cover of your magazine. You will find, in the lower right corner, a mailing label. (Obviously, this message is directed to our print.) Until recently, your mailing address was printed directly onto the cover of the magazine, inside a big white box. Many of us found this aesthetically irritating, because the big white box was laid over a portion of our cover, obscuring both its beauty and its message. We put a lot of time and energy into making our covers, and I believe that they are exquisite. They should certainly not be subjected to defacement by the needs of the United States Postal Service.