Improved Means for Preventing and Detecting the Fraudulent Opening of Envelopes, Wrappers, Parcels, and the like, and Preventing the Removal of Stamps, Labels, or Seals from the same.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 2nd May, 1894-Accepted, 3rd Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Preventing and Detecting the Fraudulent
Opening of Envelopes, Wrappers, Parcels, and the like, and
Preventing the Removal of Stamps, Labels, or Seals from the
same.
I, EMILE DE MEULEMEESTER, of 29 Rue de l'Alliance Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to means for preventing and detecting the fraudulent
opening of envelopes, wrappera, parcels and the like, and preventing the removal of
stamps, labels or seals from the same.
Attempts have heretofore been made, but without success, to find a practical and
cheap means for rendering letters inviolable and for preventing the fraudulent
removal of postage stamps or any adhesive stamps from letters.
With the gums generally employed in the manufacture of envelopes, stamps,
seals and the like it is easy, by employing vapour or other means for effecting the
hydration, to open a letter or to remove an adhesive stamp or seal.
By my improved method, which is extremely simple and cheap, any letter may
be rendered inviolable in the sense that it cannot be opened without leaving traces
of having been tampered with. When this method is applied to postage stamps and
adhesive stamps or seals it will entirely prevent their removal from the envelope,
wrapper or parcel to which they have been affixed.
This method is as follows: By means of a brush or otherwise I coat either the
part of the envelope which is to receive the gum or the opposite part or both, or
the back or the front, or both, of the stamp or seal not yet provided with gum, with
a compound or a solution of an impermeable material, for example indiarubber,
varnish or the like, and apply to this material the ordinary gum.
Neither water nor vapour has then any effect upon the gum protected by
the solution of indiarubber, varnish or other impermeable materials, and it is
impossible to open the letter or to remove the stamp or seal from the wrapper
or parcel to which it has been affixed.
In the case of receipts and other papers I fix a label to the back of the sheet at
the point corresponding to that covered by the stamp on the front of the said sheet.
In this manner it will not be possible to unfix the stamp by moistening the back of
the paper to which it adheres.
It will be understood that by impermeable materials I mean not only varnishes.
and solutions of indiarubber, but also any compound with a base of fatty substances
or oil or oil alone.
Deted this 2-1 1 of tum
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Preventing and Detecting the Fraudulent
Opening of Envelopes, Wrappers, Parcels, and the like, and
Preventing the Removal of Stamps, Labels, or Seals from the
same.
I, EMILE DE MEULEMEESTER, of 29 Rue de l'Alliance, Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Merchant, 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 :—
My invention relates to means for preventing and detecting the fraudulent
opening of envelopes, wrappers, parcels and the like, and preventing the removal
of stamps, labels or seals from the same.
Attempts have heretofore been made, but without success, to find a practical and
cheap means for rendering letters inviolable and for preventing the fraudulent
removal of postage stamps or any adhesive stamps from letters.
With the gums generally employed in the manufacture of envelopes, stamps,
seals and the like it is easy, by employing vapour or other means for effecting the
hydration, to open a letter or to remove an adhesive stamp or seal.
By my improved method, which is extremely simple and cheap, any letter may
be rendered inviolable in the sense that it cannot be opened without leaving traces
of having been tampered with. When this method is applied to postage stamps
and adhesive stamps or seals it will entirely prevent their removal from the
envelope, wrapper or parcel to which they have been affixed.
This method is as follows: By means of a brush or otherwise I coat either the
part of the envelope which is to receive the gum or the opposite part or both, or
the back or the front, or both, of the stamp or seal not yet provided with gum,
with a compound or a solution of an impermeable material, for example, india-
rubber, or preferably varnish having a base of resin mixed with a suitable analine
colouring matter, and apply to this material the ordinary gum.
Neither water nor vapour has then any effect upon the gum protected by the
solution of indiarubber, varnish or other impermeable materials, and it is impos-
sible to open the letter or to remove the stamp or seal from the wrapper or parcel
to which it has been affixed.
In the case of receipts and other papers I fix a label to the back of the sheet at
the point corresponding to that covered by the stamp on the front of the said sheet.
In this manner it will not be possible to unfix the stamp by moistening the back of
the paper to which it adheres.
It will be understood that by impermeable materials I mean not only varnishes
and solutions of indiarubber, but also any compound with a base of fatty substances
or oil or oil alone.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The application to envelopes, postage stamps, adhesive stamps, labels, paper or
other seals and the like, of a compound or a solution of indiarubber material or of
varnish or any other impermeable material, such as compounds having a base
of fatty bodies, oil or simply oil or the like, upon the parts designed to receive
the gum or the opposite parts or the two at the same time, for the purpose of
rendering impossible the opening of a letter or any wrapper without leaving traces

page_text: of violation or preventing the removal of stamps, seals, labels, wrappers or packets
to which they are affixed.
Dated this 2nd day of May 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.