Year: 1885

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
Alexander Colin Campbell of the City of Toronto, Canada, Journalist,) 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 invention is to so form, fold and gum a sheet of paper that it
may be written or printed upon one side, folded and gummed so as to enclose and
secure from inspection the said writing or printing, leaving the outer side free to
receive the postage stamp, address, and directions for folding and opening the said
sheet;
and it consists essentially, of a sheet of paper, or other suitable material,
having a margin formed on two of its sides opposite to each other by perforations
so that the said margins may be readily torn from the main sheet; directions for
folding, addressing; and opening the sheet being printed upon the outside where
the address is to be written; the inside of the margins being gummed so that when
the sheet is folded the ends of the envelope shall be sealed by the said gummed
margins, which must be torn off before the writing or printing within can be
examined, substantially as hereinafter more particularly explained.
Figure 1. shows the preferred form of the sheet of paper.
Figure 2. represents the sheet in the act of being folded.
Figure 3 is a view of the folded sheet.
Figure 4 is an alternative form of letter sheet.
For the purpose of facilitating the description of this invention the places where
the folds shall be made are marked by dotted lines. These dotted lines need not
necessarily be on the sheet itself, as I think it will be sufficient to have one line on
the opposite side of the sheet as represented in Figure 2.
As represented in Figure 1 the sheet has three folds a b and c. It will be
noticed that beyond the fold, c, the margins A, are dispensed with, so that the
portion of the sheet beyond the fold c will not be gummed when the sheet is
folded. This fact is mentioned because it will be seen that in order to seal the
folded sheet it is merely necessary to gum that portion of the margin on either
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page_text: side of the folds a and b. These margins as before stated are separated from the
main portion of the sheet by lines of perforations & which enable the said margins
to be readily torn off.
When the sheet is formed with an envelope flap B the point of the flap should
be gummed, the portion of the said flap which is gummed being separated by a row
of perforations e.
When the sheet is folded, as indicated, it will be noticed on reference to Figure 2
that the flap B folds over the body of the sheet so that the portion of the margin A
attached to it shall lap over outside the margin next to it and as these margins are
gummed the ends of the sheet are thus effectually sealed and when the point of the
flap B is gummed it also is held down.
The perforations d and e allow the sheet thus folded and sealed to be readily
opened.
From the foregoing it will be noticed that the great advantage of this invention
consists in the fact that one side of the sheet is left entirely blank to receive any
message or letter it may be desired to write upon it, and that when the said sheet
is folded as directed it is effectually sealed until opened as directed, and further it
will enable the Government of any country adopting the plan to sell stamped
sheets of paper capable of being sealed like envelopes, and which may be sold at a
rate quite as cheap as the present postal cards.
In the alternative form exhibited by Figure 4 it will be noticed that the
margins A, extend only sufficiently on the sheet to represent the size of the sheet
when folded. When thus made the perforations e are folded over the portion of
the sheet marked "D." when the latter is folded up over the portion of the sheet
marked "E." When thus made the envelope may be opened by separating the
margins and flap from the main body of the sheet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
1. A sheet of paper, or other suitable material, having gummed margins A
separated from the main sheet by perforations d substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
2. A sheet of paper or other suitable material, having gummed; margins A
separated from the main sheet by perforations d and the perforations e, separating
the flap from the main body of the sheet, substantially as and for the purpose
Bpecified.