![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-000.jpg/640px-Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-000.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Envelope
Stationery item used for flat mail / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about envelopes in packaging. For other uses, see Envelope (disambiguation).
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card.
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![Front of an envelope mailed in the U.S. in 1906, with a postage stamp and address](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-000.jpg/640px-Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-000.jpg)
![Back of the above envelope, showing an additional receiving office postmark](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-002.jpg/640px-Envelope_-_Boonville_Address-002.jpg)
Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a short-arm cross or a kite. These shapes allow the envelope structure to be made by folding the sheet sides around a central rectangular area. In this manner, a rectangle-faced enclosure is formed with an arrangement of four flaps on the reverse side.