A New or Improved Safety Fastening or Seal for Envelopes, Covers, and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 12th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 8th Feb., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Safety Fastening or Seal for Envelopes, Covers,
and the like.
A communication from abroad by AUGUSTE BACHELAY, Envelope Manufacturer,
of 62, Rue du Temple, Paris, in the Republic of France.
I WALTER ALFRED BARLOW, of 7 John Street, Bedford Row, London, W.C.
Consulting Engineer and Patent Expert, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a new or improved safety fastening or seal for
envelopes, covers and the like the object being to render impossible the opening
of a flap or fold to which the fastening is applied.
This safety fastening consists of a metal plate or disc with a centrally disposed
hollow or depression and provided with points or tangs stamped up out of the
metal plate which said points or tangs are intended to pass through the parts of
the flap or fold material which is to be secured and fastened and then the tangs
will be flattened down and the wax be melted in on the tangs to secure the
fastening.
To apply this fastening means to a letter I place the metal disc or plate
interiorily of the envelope and I lay down, on to it, the flap of the envelope in
such wise that the tangs will pass through both of the portions to be secured
(it may be that holes or eyelets be previously provided for the passing therethrough
of the tangs, or that they be simply forced through the material) and then the tangs
are flattened down on the outside of the flap or fold and the wax be run in and
the impression seal be applied.
Thus sealed the metal seal and the wax will be intimately laid together and
tampering with the seal by means of heated wire or the like will be rendered
impossible.
To further protect the base of the tangs there may be employed a circular or
prismatic ring of hardened steel or hard metal, surrounding the base of the tangs
so that they cannot be sawn through. This ring will be of but little depth and
small tangs may be raised up out of the plate or disc so as to be turned over the
edge of the ring to hold same in place.
Dated 12th March 1895
WALTER A. BARLOW,
7, John Street, Bedford Row, W.C.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Safety Fastening or Seal for Envelopes, Covers,
and the like.
A communication from abroad by Auguste BachELAY, Envelope Manufacturer,
of 62 Rue du Temple, Paris, in the Republic of France.
I WALTER ALFred Barlow, of 7 John Street, Bedford Row, London, W.C.
Consulting Engineer and Patent Expert, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to a new or improved safety fastening or seal for
ID...0.1

page_text: envelopes, covers and the like, the object being to render impossible the opening.
of a flap or fold to which the fastening is applied.
It is well known that one of the very usual means for withdrawing from a sealed
cover the values or documents contained therein consists in removing the seal by
means of a very thin blade previously heated; the seal is very easily detached
from the envelope and may be affixed again without any difficulty. The withdrawal
having been effected nothing will show it.
My seal renders this fraudulent operation absolutely impossible, and the
envelope sealed by my system can be violated only by completely breaking the
seal.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a plan of a metallic disc with tangs and claws cut before being
raised.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same with the claws and tangs raised and a ring
surrounding the tangs.
Fig. 3 is a section of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows a section of a seal put in its place and passing through the four
flaps of a letter.
Fig. 5 shows a seal put in its place, protecting any packet (case, box or
the like).
This safety fastening consists of a metal plate or disc P with a centrally
disposed hollow or depression R and provided with points or tangs S stamped up
out of the metal plate which said points or tangs are intended to pass through
the parts of the flap or fold of material which is to be secured and fastened,
and then the tangs will be flattened down and the wax be melted in on the tangs
to secure the fastening.
To apply this fastening means to a letter, I place the metal disc or plate D
interiorly of the envelope, and I lay down on to it the flap of the envelope in such
wise that the tangs S pass through both of the portions to be secured, (holes or
eyelets may be previously provided for the passing therethrough of the tangs, or
they may be simply forced through the material) and then the tangs are flattened
down on the outside of the flap or fold and the wax run in and the impression
seal applied.
Thus sealed the metal seal and the wax are intimately laid together and
tampering with the scal by means of a heated blade or the like rendered
impossible.
2
To further protect the base of the tangs S there is employed a circular or
prismatic ring of hardened steel or hard metal surrounding the base of the tangs S
so that they cannot be sawn through. This ring is of but little depth, and small
tangs n are raised up out of the plate or disc P so as to be turned over the edge
of the ring to hold the same in place.
The application of my safety fastening or seal is unlimited; what I have explained
for a letter may be done exactly in the same manner for any cover packet or
the like.
For boxes I have only to pierce as many holes as there are seals required and
act as for any other cover, the string passing between the tangs and being concealed
with them in the wax seal.
The same is the case with wax stamps and in general for any objects which
usually require seals.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :
1. The combination of a metallic plate or disc having tangs cut therein, which
pass through the flaps or folds of envelopes through and through and upon which
they are bent down, with a wax seal in which the bent tangs of the said plate are
concealed, substantially as described.

page_text: 2. The combination of the beforementioned tangs with a ring of hardened steel.
protecting them against the use of a saw, substantially as described.
3. A seal arranged and constructed substantially as described with reference to-
the drawings.
Dated this 12th day of December 1895.
WALTER A. BARLOW.