An Improved Christmas or other Card, Advertising Device, or Ornament.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Christmas or other Card, Advertising Device,
or Ornament.
I, THOMAS GEORGE EDWARDS, of 6. Gloucester Road, Regents Park, in the
County of London, Christmas Card Designer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention is to construct a Christmas or other card,
advertising device or ornament which is capable of being folded flat and placed in
an envelope and which when withdrawn therefrom and released will open auto-
matically.
In carrying my invention into effect I fold a card on a straight line or I take
two cards capable of being placed in contact along one of their edges and I
attach to the under side thereof a piece of thin vulcanized or cured sheet rubber
which acts as a spring to pull the card or cards into an open position when not
retained in a folded position by means of an envelope or otherwise.
When employing two separate cards in contact the sheet rubber acts not only
as a spring but also as a hinge. The said sheet rubber is attached to the card or
cards by means of cement or in any convenient manner when it or they is or are
in the open position and the act of folding stretches the india rubber on the
hinge line.
°
I may attach to the card or cards any suitable device made of thin material
such as paper representing a cup, bottle, glass or any other desired object. This
device is made to fold flat so as to occupy little space when the article is folded.
It will be understood that the Christmas or other card, advertising device or
ornament may be decorated in any desired manner and may have any appro-
priate printing matter thereon. Although I have herein before spoken of a card
or cards it will be understood that other thin material of a stiff nature may be
employed and in some cases more than one spring hinge may be employed.
Dated this 5th day of December 1898.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
An Improved Christmas or other Card, Advertising Device,
or Ornament.
I, THOMAS GEORGE EDWARDS, of 6, Gloucester Road, Regents Park, in the
County of London, Christmas Card Designer, do hereby declare the nature of this
TD 077

page_text: invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the present invention is to construct a Christmas or other card,
advertising device or ornament which is capable of being folded flat and placed in
an envelope and which when withdrawn therefrom and released will open auto-
matically.
1
And in order that my invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully
to describe the same.
Fig. 1, is an underside view of an advertising device constructed according to
my invention, Fig. 2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is a plan of the same.
Fig. 4 shows the same article partly folded.
Fig. 5 is an underside view of the same device showing a slight modification.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
The device illustrated in the drawings represents a hexagonal cup and a spoon
resting on a round saucer.
a a are two pieces of flat cardboard or other suitable material representing a
saucer, one of such pieces having the representation of a spoon embossed or other-
wise indicated thereon.
These pieces of cardboard have straight meeting edges and are connected
together by a piece of thin india rubber cemented thereto which forms the
hinge and also a spring for pulling the cards a a into a line with each other
that is to say into the same plane when not otherwise held. The cup c which
is of hexagonal shape and formed from a single piece of paper or other thin
flexible material is only connected to the saucer on the lines c¹, each half of
the bottom being connected to or being a continuation of one of the sides c³
of the cup. The handle c of the cup e is formed of two thicknesses of material
cemented together each being of one piece with the sides of the cup c.
When the sides a a of the saucer are folded on their meeting edges the cup
likewise folds on the centre line so that the sides a a may be placed almost in
contact being merely separated by two thicknesses of paper
material.
:
or other thin
In folding the advertising device the sheet of rubber will be stretched along
the line where the two cards a a meet, so that when the said device is withdrawn
from an envelope or other holder it will immediately assume the form of a cup
and saucer.
In some cases I may employ two separate pieces of india rubber 61 as shown
in Fig. 5 to form the spring hinge.
It will be understood that the saucer may be formed of a single piece of
material folded on its centre line and that the various parts may be suitably
ornamented and have any advertisement thereon.
I do not confine myself to the use of the device herein shown and described as
it is clear that other devices of a like nature may be formed from cardboard or
other thin material and be opened out by means of a thin rubber spring as
herein described.
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. An improved Christmas or other card, advertising device or ornament
capable of being folded flat and provided with an india rubber spring or springs,
substantially as herein shown and described.
ornament
2. An improved Christmas or other card advertising device or
consisting of a card folded on its centre line and provided with a flat india
rubber spring or springs and a many sided device such as a cup substantially as
herein described.

page_text: 3. An improved Christmas or other card, advertising device or ornament
consisting of two separate cards or pieces of other thin material connected
together by means of a piece of india rubber forming a spring hinge and having
a many sided device such as a cup attached thereto substantially as herein
shown and described.
Dated this 30th day of March 1899
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.