Printed money envelope

Purchased in London, AD 1999

A calm sea and the wind in your sails

This envelope, with a colourful design on its front and a red background and reverse, is typical of the 1990s and early twenty-first century.

On the front is a traditional sailing boat, or junk, sailing on a calm sea with just a few clouds high in the sky. The four characters written on the main sail wish for 'the wind in your sails'. This phrase is used as a general wish for good luck, but is especially used to wish 'Bon Voyage' to someone setting out on a journey.

There are five other good luck wishes on the front, all presented as though stamped images from a carved seal. They wish for peace and calm, wind in your sails, a wonderful future, abundance and profit.