No, it wasn’t the kind that of gum you chew and blow bubbles with, gum as in gum paste derived from a tree. Their contraption had a brush that applied gum to the envelope’s seal, which was previously done by hand. Wheeler Swift remastered a design from James Green Arnold and created the self-gumming envelope machine. Hawes invented the first automatic envelope folding machine that could produce 2,500 envelopes per hour. While their machine could produce sealed envelopes quickly, it was still hand-operated. Hill and De La Rue’s invention inspired future envelope-making machines that further improved the process. British inventors Edwin Hill and Warren De La Rue solved this issue in 1840 by creating and patenting the first mass-producing envelope folding machine. The demand for envelopes grew after this universal postage, and folding every single envelope manually was time-consuming. By 1851, a letter could be mailed coast to coast in the US for only three cents per ounce. This was then changed to weight and distance, making it affordable to more people. First Envelope Folding Machineĭuring this time, the cost of postage depended on the number of sheets and then extra for the envelope, which only the wealthy could afford. The envelope-folding machine at Hill and De La Rue’s booth at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. Envelopes, as we know them now, did not begin until long after the invention of paper. After this era, envelopes were made out of animal skin and leaves. It was a secure method of sealing documents, but very high maintenance. Recipients opened the envelope by literally breaking the outer layer of clay. Clay envelopes protected deeds, mortgages, bookkeeping forms, financial accounts and, of course, letters. That’s right – the envelope was baked like a cookie. Then the hardened tablet was coated with more clay and baked again. Messages were written on clay tablets and then baked until hardened. The first envelope ever in the world came from ancient Babylon. all the way through the invention of paper leading up to the inexpensive ones we get every day. The history of envelopes dates as far back as 2,000 B.C. But before the paper envelope was invented, documents were folded and sealed into themselves with wax, unprotected. And sometimes it’s nice to use one with a window in it so you don’t have to write the address by hand. If you had to mail something confidential, like a credit card or social security number, you would need it in an envelope. But you already knew that, right? It’s like the cheapest thing you can buy at the office supply store. An envelope is a flat paper container in which you insert a document, seal it shut, and then send it to someone.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |