PAPER ENVELOPES, BAGS, ETC. 



735 



May 6, 1840. Before the end of the year the 

 number of letters passing through the mails 

 more than doubled, and in 1841 more than 

 half of the letters posted were inclosed in en- 

 velopes. In 1850, 290,000,000 enveloped let- 

 ters passed through the mails in Great Britain 

 alone, and there, as well as in America and all 

 other lands, it has rapidly increased ever since. 



At first envelopes were regarded with dis- 

 favor by fastidious people. The gummed seal- 

 flap inevitably suggested the tongue as the most 

 natural and convenient source of moisture ne- 

 cessary to induce adhesion, and it was held 

 to be an affront to send a letter that could be 

 suspected of having undergone such treatment. 

 The Duke of Wellington is said to have waxed 

 very wroth over a transgression in this regard, 

 but the innovation was so very convenient 

 that not even the disapproval of the aristoc- 

 racy could impair its popularity, and for a gen- 

 eration letters folded in the old way have been 

 practically obsolete, save as fashion now and 

 then decrees a temporary revival of the cus- 

 tom. 



In the United States the introduction and 

 manufacture of envelopes kept pace with that 

 of Great Britain. Comparatively cheap rates 

 of letter- post ige were introduced in 1843, and 

 with each successive reduction the demand for 

 envelopes increased. 



For nearly ten yeara hand processes fur- 

 nished all that were used, but it became evi- 

 dent that the demand must speedily outgrow 

 the supply, and by 1840 an envelope-making 

 machine was devised in England, but was not 

 patented, and does not appear to have done 

 satisfactory work. The first English patent 

 (No. 10,565) was issued to Edwin Hill and 

 Warren De la Rue, March 17, 1844, and the 

 machine was subsequently improved and ex- 

 hibited by its inventor at the World's Fair in 

 London in 1851, where it attracted much at- 

 tention. 



The first American patent (No. 6,055) was 

 issued to J. K. Park and C. S. Watson, Jan. 23, 

 1849, and the number of patents on envelopes 

 and envelope machinery now numbers not far 

 from 300 in the United States alone, while the 

 daily consumption of envelopes for letters only 

 is estimated at 12,000,000 to 15,000,000. This 

 makes no account of the many millions of seed 

 and sample envelopes. 



The manufacture of envelopes by hand is 

 such a simple matter that for several years the 

 demand was supplied by the most primitive 

 methods. A diamond-shaped pattern of wood, 

 cardboard, or metal was used as a guide for 

 knife or shears in cutting paper to the desired 

 shape. The folding, gumming, etc., were all 

 done by hand, as were the subsequent opera- 

 tions of counting and separating into packages. 



As the demand increased, hand-tools were 

 devised, so that several sheets could be cut 

 through at once. These were in effect chisels, 

 one very broad, so that its cutting-edge was 

 several inches long, and the other bent so that 



it would cut a right angle (C, 0, Fig. 1). To 

 use them to advantage the paper had to be 

 held firmly upon a cutting-table, while the 

 chisel was driven through with a mallet. The 

 workman at first held the sheets down by main 

 strength, pressing his elbow upon a block rest- 

 ing on the paper while he drove his chisel, but 

 a simple and ingenious toggle-joint arrange- 

 ment soon superseded the primitive method, 

 so that the several sheets of paper were held 

 firmly while the trimming was done by hand. 

 This toggle-press is shown in Fig. 1. A repre- 

 sents several sheets of paper; B, the block that 

 holds them down and receives the direct press- 



Fio. 1. TOGGLE-PRESS. 



ure ; D, D, is the toggle, composed of two legs, 

 one inflexible and the other hinged about mid- 

 way of its length, as shown. To the end of 

 the inflexible leg a line, G, is made fast which 

 passes through a hole near the end of the 

 hinged leg. F is a solid timber or other ade- 

 quate overhead support. It is evident that a 

 pull upon G must cause a powerful downward 

 thrust upon B. When the pressure is sufficient, 

 G is carried up to the cleat, E, and made fast. 

 The facility with which pressure can be ap- 

 plied and released with this contrivance ren- 

 ders it very convenient. C, C, represent the 

 chisels at first used in making envelopes, and 

 which are still used in filling small orders for 

 irregular sizes. 



The folding and gumming were at first done 

 by hand, wooden blocks of the desired size 



