Abbreviations

[Carien van Hest]

Is there a list of abbreviations concerning mail art?

A&P

ATC

MA

and so on. Please help me out.

[Heide Monster]

You should start a list, I think there are many more

a&p add and pass

atc artists trading cards 

ma mail art

[Carien van Hest]

Is the one that makes and A&P the inventor of the subject? Like add a certain stamp, a picture of a country, etc? Is there a standard form for and A&P? Does it end when the form finally returns to the inventor? What happens then?

Does an ATC has a specific sizing?

[Heide Monster]

yes, an ATC has an official size: 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"

I believe an A&P finally goes home when it is full.  There is no standard shape or size or format

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

TLP = Tacking Little Pamphlet

(like by the Bennetts :-)

[Heide Monster]

There are some unique words in mail art, not just abbreviations - you don't see all the time.  I've never found a "dictionary"...maybe a project for someone else

inchies (art 1"x1")

twinchies (2"x 2")

artistamps = cinderellas

I'm sure there is more, just cannot think of them off the top of my head.

[Carien van Hest]

Ok, if everyone will contribute, I will collect them al, make a list and spread it by PDF (Portable Document File!).

[Samantha Price]

PC=post card

envie or env or my favorite, 'lope= envelope

.....BTW (by the way!), i sent u a 'lope last week :)

[Carien van Hest]

Looking forward, Samantha!

[Toni Hanner -- tonipoet]

There's also the word "boekie" which refers to a little book. A TLP could be a boekie (correct me if I'm wrong, Kat). Not sure who came up with the term in the mail art world but its origin is Afrikaans. And there's the word "deco" which is also a "boekie" (which is also a "zine"). Anything can be an Add & Pass, a zine or boekie, a standard 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, a postcard, and ATC folks have their own Add & Passes, which are called "Jams."

Is this confusing enough? No worries, mate!

[Carien van Hest]

Thank you for the information! Boekie is also Dutch! Boek = book! 

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Cheryl Penn of South Africa was the first artist I noticed here at IUOMA who used the word "boekie" for small artist books. That was 2011 and it may have been used earlier. Carien, boek=book in Dutch is news to me. I learned something today, hallelujah and thank you!