Why are letters folded in thirds?

Question

Why not in half or quarters? It would be much easier.

(Yes, I know we do it so it fits in the envelop nicely but we could just as easily have envelopes that fit quarter pages.)

Answer 1

8 by 11.5 inches letter is folded in thirds, the least number allowed, to fit into the envelope.

Answer 2

Befoe envelopes you could fold the paper into thirds to fit in your shirt pocket

Answer 3

Actually, one could use their origami talents, fold them like birds, and send them via air mail.

I do like that they do fit into envelops better that way.

Answer 4

Basically, before envelopes existed a letter was folded in on itself so that it could be sealed with wax, mostly to prove it hadn't been open, but also to prove the source, i.e. who the sender was. While the wax was hot, the sender would imprint it, usually with a ring of some description which would act much like the signature on a bank cheque.

Envelopes were developed around the traditional size of letters, but it's essentially speaking a convenient size. It's very much a case of the product being made to fit the task at hand with very little effort. It's one of the few things people got right first time.

It also looks nice, and letters these days often take that into account since the incentive for sending what's now dubbed "snail mail" may be considered partly aesthetic, as opposed to the instantaneous medium dubbed "e-mail". Letters are a lot more personal, more physical, and to make them aesthetically pleasing is part of the experience. That's the only reason I can think of for "three" as opposed to "two" or "four".

I hope this helps, although you're half way there yourself. Good luck in your quest for linguistic mastery.

Answer 5

You can do what you feel like

Answer 6

Originally, there were no envelopes, so you just wrote your letter, folded it into thirds so you could affix your signet seal to close it shut, and send it on its way.

when envelopes came into vogue, the folding remained