Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: envelopes

"Love's Cable. Handed in at Cupid's Court. No code book is needed for these cables, true love deciphers them. St. Valentine. Bow and Arrow Avenue, Feb. 14. To my valentine, I cable to say, I am yours today, my heart is true, my love to you. If the accuracy of this message be doubted, it will gladly be confirmed on payment of twenty kisses." This folded Valentine's Day greeting was a parody of a "cablegram" (often shortened to "cable"), which was a message transmitted over the submarine communications cables that were laid across the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere as early as the 1850s. So why would you need to use a code book to send a cablegram? Author Frank C. McClelland described how these worked in the following excerpt from his book, Office Training and Standards (Chicago: A. W. Shaw, 1919), p. 49: How to use a code book. Firms with foreign connections or correspondents also find use for a cable-code book which helps greatly to cut down the expense of cable messages by shortening the number of words required to convey the message. A code book is simply a directory of code words arranged alphabetically, each word being the code for a certain phrase. For example, the word "Dardejante" may stand for "Draft has been presented for payment." and the word "Daricus" may stand for "Draft is correct; please pay." Nearly every kind of message is given in a code book. Suppose we desired to send a cablegram to London reading "Merritt Brothers draft has been presented for payment for two hundred dollars Shall we pay for your account?" If we did not use a code book the cablegram would contain 18 words in addition to the name, address, and signature, which might bring the number of words up to 27. At 31 cents a word, the cablegram would cost $8.37. By using code words we would get this result: "(name) (address) Merritt Brothers Dardejante Morderesti Genageld (signature)," making only eight words, which would cost only $2.48, a saving of $5.89.

"Chas. S. Frantz, graduate ophthalmic optician, watchmaker, and jeweler, Lancaster, Pa." Detail showing the return address in the upper left-hand corner of an envelope printed by D. B. Landis, Pluck Art Printery, Lancaster, Pa. For similar items, see Dr. F. C. Williams, Eye Specialist, Harrisburg, Pa. , and B. B. Lupfer, Graduate Optician, New Bloomfield, Pa.

"No. ________. Amount ________. Name ________. Open a bank account of your own and watch it grow. Spend less than you get. The Guardian Trust Co. of York, Pa." A bank envelope with some practical advice.

The guy's bursting through that poor woman's heart just to deliver his valentine! Here are some other last-minute Valentine's Day greetings!

A selection of Victorian-era calling cards.

Sign on float: "New Bloomfield Post Office. Perry Co. Sesquicentennial 1970, The County Seat, New Bloomfield, Pa. 17068." The United States Postal Service's "Mr. ZIP" character--the cutout of a wide-eyed, smiling postman that's standing in the middle of the float next to two mailbags and a mailbox--promoted the use of ZIP codes , which were first used in 1963. Perry County Sesquicentennial Parade, photo taken at the intersection of West Main and Apple Streets, New Bloomfield, Pa., 1970. For other photos from this parade, see:

Founded in 1803, N. J. Haibara was a Japanese printing company and paper manufacturer based in Tokyo, as this Victorian-era business card indicates (see my Google-assisted translation below). Today, the firm operates under the name of Haibara Corporation and still manufactures washi and other types of paper. -------- N. J. Haibara Vingt recompenses obtenues aux expositions. Maison fondée en 1803. Eventails, cartes postales illustrée, crans. Papiers peints, tentures et tapisseries.Dessins imprimés sur la planche. Gravée, lithographié, phototypie. Cartes de visite. Papiers à lettre, enveloppes et cathets à papier. Imagier et marchand de papier. 1 Nihonbasi, Tôkiô, Japon. R. Nakamoura, atelier d'imprimerie, Simonegisi, Tôkiô. -------- N. J. Haibara Twenty awards obtained at exhibitions. House founded in 1803. Fans, illustrated postcards, screens. Wallpapers, wall hangings, and tapestries.Drawings printed on board. Engraving, lithography, collotype. Visiting cards. Letterheads, envelopes, and cachets for paper. Image maker and paper merchant. 1 Nihonbasi, Tokyo, Japon. R. Nakamoura, print shop, Simonegisi, Tokyo.

"The sea may rise and mountains fall, but my love for thee will live through it all. Sweet dreams and glad awakernings be thine."

"New Chevrolet, sold by Cunningham-Joyce Motor Co., 706 Dewey Ave., St. Nicholas' Church Festival, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 19, 20, 21, 1930."