AN IMPROVED POSTAL OR CORRESPONDENCE CARD
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th April 1872.-A communication from abroad by Emory
M Clintock, of Milwaukee, in the County of Milwaukee, and State
of Wisconsin, United States of America.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED POSTAL OR CORRESPONDENCE CARD,"
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a small sheet or card for
letter writing purposes which when folded can be readily closed, sealed,
and directed, not requiring an envelope, and which until the closed edges
are detached cannot be opened and read, though the recipient can easily
remove the edges and open the letter.
By the introduction of this Invention the advantages of the postal
card system will in every respect be retained, while its disadvantages, to
wit, the display of the correspondence, are strictly avoided. The outer

page_text: border of a sheet of pasteboard or stiff or ordinary paper is marked on
the inner side of the body of the sheet by a series of lines, said lines
being, if desired, formed by a cutting or indenting tool, so that the
material will be weakened along these lines. This object can be effected
by abrasion of the surface, by successive perforations or indentations, by
chemical action, by moulding when manufactured, or by other suitable
means, and makes it easier to tear the sheet along these lines than in
other directions. These lines should be so accurately drawn that when
the sheet is folded once over across the middle they may overlie each
other as nearly as possible, the so called borders of the two halves of the
sheet coinciding in like manner. The half portion of these borders is
gummed. A message is written on the inner side of the sheet within
the lines, the sheet is then folded over, the gummed borders joined
together, and the address of the person to whom the message is sent
written on the back. When received the letter thus made up is opened
by tearing away the border, which is done without injury to the writing
within by following the lines prepared as described.
The combination of the single fold, the fastening together of the
borders of the sheet, and the preparation made for tearing off the borders
by the weakening of the material along the lines considered best for that
purpose, constitutes the essence of the Invention.
In practice I prefer to make use of a card of rectangular shape, and to
have the lines disposed parallel to the edges, though other forms may be
employed. To guide and facilitate the folding, the back of the card may
be creased or scratched across the middle, the lines may be made visible
on the back as well as on the inner side of the letter, and can be similarly
scratched or cut, and extended to the edges of the sheet. The border is
gummed ready for use in the same way as envelopes by suitable adhesive
material. The preparation for the fold if not made by moulding when
the paper is manufactured is perhaps best made by cutting across the
surface of the back of the card. It may however be made by other
suitable means fitted to secure a local weakening of the material, or by
a preliminary folding.
The preparation of the lines to facilitate tearing is most conveniently
made on a small scale by scratching the surface. On a large scale of
manufacture however it would be preferable to prepare the material for
tearing by making a close succession of minute perforations along the

page_text: lines intended to be torn. These are however already indicated numerous
known methods suited to produce a local weakening of the material, any
one of which produces equally good results. The extension of the lines
to the edges of the sheet is decidedly advantageous.
The application of gum or other adhesive material to the border of the
sheet is an essential feature of this Invention, but may be made at any
time after the card is prepared in other respects for use or after written.
It may be advisable to print lines on the back, as guides for addressing,
for the greater convenience of the Post Office. Part of the back may also
be covered by a suitable device, inscription, or business notice, for the
purpose of concealing more effectually the writing within, and to serve as
an advertisement.