IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENING AND SECURING ENVELOPES, LETTERS, DISPATCHES, PARCELS' PACKAGES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Harcourt Brown, of No. 11, Adam Street,
Strand, London, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FASTENING AND SECURING ENVELOPES, LETTERS, DISPATCHES, PARCELS'
PACKAGES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES"
Sealed the 12th April 1864, and dated the 31st October 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Harcourt Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st October 1863.
I, JOHN HARCOURT BROWN, of No. 11, Adam Street, Strand, London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN FASTENING AND SECURING ENVELOPES, LETTERS, DISPATCHES, PARCELS,
PACKAGES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows, that is to say:-
I take thin sheets of brass, copper, iron, or other suitable metal or material,
and by dies and pressure cut or stamp out such pieces as may be required for
making the metal seal fasteners at the end of these pieces, and from reverse
sides lips are pressed up, so that when the piece is bent from the centre the
projecting lip on one side fits into the hollow on the other. The seal or
fastener may be employed in the usual manner with any requisite or fitting
device upon the portion of the metal which forms the outer part of it, the
metal being fashioned so as to receive it without injury to the lips.
ונם. ·מח

page_text: In attaching these fasteners to envelopes the flaps must have holes the exact
size of the lips perforated in them, the three flaps being brought together in
the ordinary way. The under piece of the tastener is passed through a slot
representing three parts of a cross, which is made fast below when the
three flaps overlap, and the lip is brought up through the holes made to
receive it, and secured thereto by a disc of adhesive paper on the under
side, or it may be secured by one or more tangs left on the under part of
the fastener to pass through these folds or flaps and be turned down.
When closing the envelope the loose flap is passed between the under and
upper flaps; they are then pressed down together, and by a slight blow of
a small hammer or any other suitable instrument on the cap, or by pressure
on a paper weight or other hard substance, the fastener becomes securely
rivetted.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Harcourt Brown in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th April 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HARCOURT BROWN, of No. 11, Adam Street, Strand, London, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Harcourt Brown, Her special licence that I, the said John Harcourt
Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Harcourt Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im
PROVEMENTS IN FASTENING AND SECURING ENVELOPES, LETTERS, DISPATCHES
PARCELS, PACKAGES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Harcourt Brown, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the

page_text: same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Harcourt Brown, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture, use, and application of certain
fastening media for securing and increasing the safety of the contents of letters,
envelopes, covers, cases, parcels, packages, boxes, and other articles, into or
upon which the same may be formed or applied. These fastenings consist of
folding pieces of metal or other suitable material or materials cut, stamped, or
otherwise formed of any desired shape or configuration, two opposite ends
or parts of which are made duplicates of each other, so that upon such
duplicate parts being brought together by a blow or pressure, the said duplicate
ends or parts are so fastened that they cannot be again separated and similarly
refastened without detection, it being impossible to separate the same when
once secured without absolutely destroying the form and integrity of the
fastening. In the manufacture of these improved fasteners, I take thin sheets
of brass, copper, iron, or other suitable metal or material, and by dies and
pressure cut or stamp out blanks or pieces of the forms required, the seal,
motto, design, or letters forming a part thereof, or not, according to the
particular use intended. By preference at the two opposite ends of the blanks
I form lips, in which lips duplicate nipples,cups,or hollow indentations of any
suitable shape are pressed up for fitting one into the other when brought
together; this is effected by folding the blank or piece (in its plain, embossed,
or finished form, at the centre, or so that when so folded the nipples join.
Supposing I denominate the folding parts of the fasteners the limbs, I make
one of these limbs with an enlargement, and in this enlargement I work any
required design, such as a device, seal, motto, trade-mark, name, address, or
other ornament or letters. The duplicate ends of these limbs may be joined
either with or without an overlap when made to fasten together at the edges,
as in joining the edges of two leaves together, the cups or indentations in the
lips are raised from the opposite sides of the metal or material; but when
joined with an overlap, the caps, or other duplicate parts, may beraised or sunk
from one or the same side of the blank or piece. When these blanks are
formed with more than two limbs, the lips of the intermediate limbs may be
formed with a cup or cups as before mentioned, or be simply perforated, the
hole or holes being formed so as to fit over the cup,and the perforated lip or
lips being placed between the lips of the other limbs, and are thus all

page_text: secured together. When there are more than two limbs, the extra number
may be formed by joining a strip by a similar fastening, or radial limbs may
be stamped out in the blanks.
Having thus stated the nature and object of my said improvements, I
will now proceed more particularly to describe and ascertain the means
which I propose to employ for carrying the said Invention into effect in
practice, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings.
EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents the general form of a blank for the common envelope
fastener. a is an enlarged part of one of the limbs or folding parts; upon
this enlargement the seal or other distinguishing design or ornament or
mark is impressed; b is the other folding limb, which is folded on the line
c, c; e, a sunk cap or nipple, and f, a similar cup; these cups or nipples
are duplicates of each other, and may be both struck together while
the metal is folded by punch and die, so that one will fit into the other.
These blanks may be of any desired form, and the duplicate nipples of any
suitable shape.
a
Fig. 2 shews the mogle of attaching these fasteners to the envelopes; a slit
a is cut in the loose flap of the cover, and through this slit the narrow limb
(b, Fig. 1) is passed; perforation of the same form as the nipple is also
made in the lower flap of the envelope at a¹, and the letter or other article
being now placed within the case, the limb b is passed under the lower flap,
and the nipple through the perforation a', then the other or seal nipple fis
placed over it; in this condition a slight blow or pressure applied upon the
outer nipple causes both to rivet by a conduplication to each other, and thus
the fastener, envelope, and contents are secured. The conduplication, while it
effects a perfect lock,destroys the die form of the nipples, so that their original
forms cannot be again restored, and the same fastener used a second time,
thus affording certain security to the contents of the case or cover which it
fastens, and a never-failing indication of the seal being once broken. The
slit may be made in the fixed flap of the cover, and the perforation in the
loose one when required, or the fastener may be equally applied at any other
part of the cover, where the same is made to open and close. For holding the
end of the limb in which the under nipple is formed securely in position,
small fangs may be formed thereon to pass through the cover, &c., and
rivet or double over on the outer or inner side, as the case may be.
Fig. 3 shews the package label and package card fastener. In this fastener
one of the limbs is made of sufficient size to contain the name and address

page_text: worked in the dies, or stamped or cut out as required; at one end of this limb,
8s at "
a," a raised nipple is formed; and at the end of the short limb b, a
second nipple, which fits over the first when the limbs are folded, is also formed;
before riveting the two nipples together, as before described, a string, cord, or
wire c, c,
is placed in the fold for attaching the lable to any other article, or
the limb b may be made to embrace a part of the article itself before the
two limbs are fastened together. When it is required to make the fastener
answer the purpose of a card holder, the top and bottom edges d,d, are turned
down so as to form two grooves, a perforation being made in one end of the
card to fit over the nipple, or it is passed into the holder at e, when the loose
limb b, having the tie, or embracing some part of the article or package, is
folded with its nipple upon the other, which is now supposed to be pressed
through the perforation in the card, the two nipples being thus brought
together and rivetted by a conduplication from a blow or pressure from
one or both sides, & the card is secured. The card may also be fixed by
passing it into the holder until one end f, f, comes against the nipple, or
when the edge of the holder g, g, may be turned over upon the other end of
the card, and thus secure it in position. Fig. 3 shews this label with the
limbs a and b closed, with the string or wire in the fold.
Fig. 4 represents a common label fastener and lable attached thereto; a is a
piece of paper, parchment, paper cloth, or any other material perforated to
allow one of the nipples to pass through the same, and be secured thereto by the
folding fangs 1, 1, 1, 1, which pierce the material, and are folded and rivetted
on the opposite side. The fastener is supplied with a tie or not, as may be
required, and when folded at b, b, the nipples are rivetted as before described.
This fastener may be used for various other purposes, such as a paper or pattern
holder, brief fastener, and the like, and as a register lable fastener will be
found to be a great safeguard against dishonesty when attached to lengths of
fabrics and warehouse or other goods, the lengths, qualities, and other distin-
guishing marks it is of importance to securely register, so that the registering
ticket and fastener cannot be removed and replaced without certain detection;
it will be obvious that a ticket and fastener of this kind being passed through
and attached to the two ends of any piece of goods from which they could not
be removed without being destroyed could not fail to increase the security
thereof. Fig. 44, represents the way in which this detective or safety label is
intended to be applied to piece goods in stock.
Fig. 5 shews a modification of the fastener at Fig. 4, and is intended as a
game label fastener, which, when passed round the legs or other part of game,
and secured to the label, will prevent the labels from being removed or changed

page_text: without detection. These fasteners consist of a single strip of metal with
duplicate nipples a, a, at each end; the mode of fastening is by conduplication
from a blow or pressure, as before described; see also Fig. 54. Fig. 5ª shews
the mode of affixing the game label fastener, the label 6 (see also Fig. 5)
may be of parchment, cloth, or metal, and may be formed with the fastener,
or be inserted, and the game dealers, senders, receivers, &c., name be
printed, written, or embossed thereon.
Figs. 6 and 7, the mode of applying the fastener to dispatch and other
boxes; in this case the metal must be of suitable strength, and determined by
the size of the box. In the lid and body of the box, and in front or at the
side thereof, 2 slots a, a, (Fig. 6) are cut one over the other, or two staples
may be fitted; the fastening strip is made sufficiently long to pass through
these slots or staples, and upon their ends being brought together over the
keyhole of the lock (or in any other position), the nipples are closed, as
before described, and as shewn at Fig. 7. Fig. 8 represents a jar or bottle
fastener and label. In this case the blank is cut out with three limbs a, b, c;
at the ends a and c the nipples 1 and 2 are raised, and at the end of a hole
3 is perforated; on the limb c at d an enlargement is formed, and embossed
with a name, trade mark, or design (which may be registered); and in applying
this band the two limbs a and b are passed round the neck of the bottle or
jar, and the limb c passed over the cork or cover; the hole 3 is passed over the
nipple 1, the nipple 2 is then closed and conduplicates, as before described,
by a suitable instrument, such as a pair of pliars or pinchers, or by a
pressure from one or both sides; Fig. 8 shews the fastening as completed.
A modification of this fastener with radial limbs, 3 or 4 in number, can
be similarly applied as a label fastener for medicine boxes or any other
similar article; Fig. 8B shews the mode of applying the jar label fastener.
These fasteners, and in fact all the 3 and 4 limbed fasteners, may be made
in simple strips, and be joined as shewn at 4, Fig. 8, duplicate nipples
being used as the joining media.
Figs. 9 and 10 shew my improved fastener as applied to registered
letters; in this case a 4-limbed band is used, and may be of parchment,
leather, paper, or metal, or any other suitable material, having the metal
nipples at the end of 2 of the limbs, and an enlargement for the royal arms
or other device on one, and a lesser enlargement on the other for a
number, the words registerred letter being impressed or printed in or upon
the ends of the two other bands, as shewn at Fig. 10.
Fig. 12 shews the mode of applying my said improvement in joining the
ends or seams of any material to which the same is capable of being applied

page_text: together. In this case two strips a, one placed above and the other below
the joins, are similarly formed, with a row of nipples in duplicate on each
(see a, a); the two ends of the material are perforated to allow the under
nipples to pass through them. Upon the upper strip being placed in
position, the whole of the nipples are conduplicated by passing under a
roller; Fig. 13 shews one of the nipples (for a bottle label fastener) cut
through so as to allow the wire to be fastened in the conduplication.
Fig. 14 shews another mode of providing for a wire or string being passed
through and fastened between the nipples; in this case the holes a, a, are
pierced in the sides. Fig. 15 shews a bag fastener, which consists of the bands
shewn at Fig. 14; in this case the bag is securely tied up in the usual way,
and a piece of string or wire is passed under the cord and between it and
the bag, or if necessary passed also through the material of the sack, then
the fastener is passed round the tie, and the two ends of the transverse
string or wire are threaded through holes in the sides of the nipples, when
both are brought together, and the conduplication then secures the fastening.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature and object of my said
Invention, & illustrated the same by Drawings, I hereby further declare
that I do not absolutely restrict myself to the precise forms and modes of
applying the fasteners here shewn, as the same may be variously modified
both in details and arrangement in practice.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Harcourt Brown, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
J. H. BROWN. (L.S.)