Perforated wrapping paperIn 1871, the first U.S. patent for perforated wrapping paper was awarded to Seth Wheeler of Albany, NY (No. 117,355). The paper was wound into rolls and could easily be torn off at the perforations. It was claimed that the fibers left between the perforations were sufficient for holding the sheets together as wound on the roll. In this way, the cost of cutting, counting and bundling stacks of pre-cut sheets was to be saved, together with making storage more convenient, and saving the paper from drying and becoming brittle by exposure to the atmosphere. Paper was already manufactured in rolls; only the step of perforation was added in its production, either with a row of holes or short cuts. |
