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Wednesday 7 January 2015

Envelope

The Babylonians used envelopes made of baked clay to hold papyrus documents around 2000 BC.

The use of paper envelopes dates back to the ancient Chinese dynasties, where paper was folded and sealed to protect important correspondence.

The first envelopes with gummed flaps were produced in 1844. Prior to this, letters were typically sent as folded sheets of paper and sealed with wax or string. The development of the envelope revolutionized the postal system by making it easier to send and transport mail, and by providing greater privacy and security for correspondence.

In Britain, gummed envelope flaps were not immediately popular because it was thought to be a serious insult to send a person's saliva to someone else.

Edwin Hill and Warren De La Rue patented the first envelope-making machine in 1845. Before that, all envelopes were folded by hand.

It wasn't until the introduction of the postage stamp in the mid-19th century that envelopes became widely used for sending mail.

After the artist Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own left earlobe, he put the severed part of his ear in an envelope, wrapped his bleeding head in a scarf and handed the envelope to a girl he knew. When she opened the envelope she promptly fainted.

The first patent for a window envelope was granted to Americus F Callahan of Chicago in 1902.


Once when Albert Einsten was visiting Mount Wilson observatory in California with his wife, Mrs Einstein pointed to a complex piece of equipment and asked its purpose. The guide said that it was used to determine the shape of the universe. "Oh" she said not at all impressed. "My husband uses the back of an old envelope to work that one out. "

Manila envelopes are named for the Manila hemp used to make them. Manila hemp came from a species of banana from the Philippines.

Source Daily Express

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