68×105mm
Left: 59×93mm Right: 56×93mm
116×134mm
E

Envelopes

Envelopes, a mid 19th-century invention, have been produced in a wide range of types and sizes. The first machines for the manufacture of gummed envelopes were invented in 1850 and displayed in operation at the Great Exhibition of 1851 (ungummed envelopes date from c. 1845). These varied examples show embossing, seals, and mock seals. The blue envelope is franked 1853.