The History of Envelopes



Posted: Monday, September 07, 2009

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The first standard envelopes created and used in the UK were the result of the British government t
aking a monopoly on the postal service and needing a place to put a stamp. Prior to the standardised use of a stamp, it was the responsibility of the person receiving a missive to pay the postage. When the government took over the postal service, they implemented a standardised diamond edge envelope and stamp which then made it the sender's responsibility to pay for postal service.

The materials used to make standard envelopes were a linen rag and cotton pulp which made the envelopes soft but soluble. This changed as the ability to develop and create different types of paper was developed. In addition, the paper for envelopes was not made at the same time as the paper for stationery, so the ability to get stationery envelopes that matched the paper (if it was any colour but white) was difficult.

All of this changed when paper envelopes began gaining popularity in the mid 20th century. It was at this time that the manufacture of envelopes became a specialised field, and envelope suppliers began demanding envelopes that would meet the specific needs of their customers. The standard letter envelope was quickly matched with specialty paper envelopes which were designed to match or complement the paper that was being used with the envelope.

Specialty envelopes also require modifications of envelope size and the type of materials used to make envelopes. Nowadays, envelopes are made using polyurethane, recycled materials, plastic and other products that one would never think could have been used in previous years. In addition, envelope sizes can be made to accommodate extremely large or very small cards. While the postal service has specific regulations regarding the size and material that envelopes may be, there are still many uses for specialty envelopes that will not require that they be mailed. A small envelope may be used to enclose a note card on a gift, or a very large envelope may be used to hold a card that will not be mailed.

As the history of the envelope has evolved from the first envelopes used in ancient Babylon to protect clay tablets to the global use of envelopes today, there has been a constant renewal of interest in stationery envelopes and how to coordinate them to meet the needs of our daily lives. This includes the ability to order envelopes online when we are too busy or unable to go to a post office or shop to get them. When ordering envelopes online, one can select special designs or include photos on the paper that will be used on the envelope to personalise it and make the stationary envelopes particularly unique.

Office products come in many shapes and sizes and envelopes are one of those products that have a long history of product development. In this review Mark looks at the envelope, its origin and purpose.
More information about envelopes is available on the office product sites Mark refers to in the review.
Mark Bartley is a well respected writer on consumer affairs and a customer champion. He has experience in several industries including travel, finance, retail and leisure. He seeks to provide useful information from an unbiased viewpoint and helps people understand complicated market areas and find the best deals or services available.
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