Hi all. I'm a newbie here, and I am breaking out of lurk mode to make a request. I tried posting this before, but it showed up as a reply to a three-year-old thread... If anyone here can help me, I would be thrilled.

I am looking for a good picture (screen capture, whatever) of the big wooden 'M' from Mary's apartment wall in the MTM show.

Alternately, if anyone has a good guess as to what the typeface is, I can look for a font to match.

My wife, Melinda, grew up watching MTM. She once told me that, when she was little, she wanted to have a hip, modern bachelorette apartment with a big gold 'M' (for Melinda) hanging on the wall.

To this day, Melinda still loves the early-'70s chic of Mary's home decor: not so much in a retro-kitschy "postmodern" kinda way as out of genuine admiration.

For her 35th birthday, I want her to have her big 'M'.

My dad (a woodworking nut) thinks we can make a decent replica if we have something to work from. Attached is the best photo I could find.

Help? Please?

Keith Hautala (keith@[SPAM]lexingrad.net)*

*eliminate [SPAM] from address when replying!

Hi Keith,

This is what I know about that famous M from the wise people at the Mary and Rhoda Magazine:

It was about fourteen or sixteen inches square, a custom fabrication, possibly in fibreglass. It appears to have been finished in gold leaf and gesso, for an 'antique'
appearance.The typeface of the 'M' is Clarendon Bold.

As soon as my dad has time, I'm hoping he'll make me one, too!

I can relate to your wife's love of Mary's pad. Also at the Mary and Rhoda Magazine, you can find a blueprint of her apartment (!) and tips from experts on design on where to find all the neat things Mary had, right down to the posters on her wall, her cookie jar, coffee pot, you name it. That address is:

www.jyanet.com/mtm/features.shtml

Good luck,

Melissa