Because envelopes had not yet been invented during the Georgian Era, letters were artfully folded and sealed with wax. One "quarto" was the size paper used to write letters, that being one quarter of a broadsheet, which was the size used for newspapers. A quarto is roughly the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
There were several ways to fold and seal a letter but today we will just learn two different styles of folding and sealing your letter. Below we have a small fold using a portrait orientation and also a horizontal orientation that gives a slightly larger folded letter.
To achieve the smaller portrait orientation folded letter, hold your letter vertically and fold the sides into the middle. Crease the sides to make sealing easier. Once you have done this, fold the bottom up about three inches and then again three more inches. Fold the top of the paper down over the bottom fold and apply your wax seal. Your letter is now tamper-proof and ready to be sent to your correspondent.
To fold and seal you letter in the landscape orientation, hold your paper horizontally and fold it in half. On the right side, fold inwards one half inch. Now fold the bottom edge of the paper up about three inches and crease and then fold the top edge down over the bottom. Now you are ready to affix your wax seal.
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