Pen over Stamped Envelope refers to a proposed or discussed emoji-style symbol concept showing a writing pen laid across, or writing on, a stamped envelope. It fits the kind of correspondence, mail, and office-symbol imagery that appeared in early emoji proposal discussions, especially around the era when many Japanese mobile and pictographic symbols were being compared for possible Unicode compatibility. The concept does not appear to have become an officially approved standalone emoji, and modern emoji sets instead use related characters such as Envelope, Incoming Envelope, Memo, Writing Hand, and Fountain Pen.
The intended meaning would likely have centered on letter writing, signing, mailing a personal note, sending formal correspondence, or preparing a document to be posted. Emotionally, it could suggest thoughtfulness, apology letters, love letters, official notices, pen-pal culture, or the old internet idea of βsnail mailβ as a contrast to email and instant messaging. People may have wanted such an emoji because it combines both the act of writing and the destination of the message, making it more specific than a plain envelope or pen alone.
If represented in proposal imagery or an Apple/iOS-style mockup, the candidate would likely have appeared as a white or cream envelope with a colored postage stamp in one corner and a dark pen or fountain pen angled across the front. A glossy early-iOS design might have used a blue, black, or silver pen, a red or blue stamp, and soft shading to make the paper look slightly three-dimensional. Since there is no widely recognized official Apple or Unicode design for this exact candidate, such descriptions should be understood as conceptual rather than evidence of a released emoji.
Disqus Leave a comment!
Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was one of the "suggested emojis" the Unicode group unveiled in June 2014 [article], however, it has been, and still is, up to the companies who support emoji in their operating systems to provide not only images but also an algorithm to replace the emoji code into the emoji image.
