In a library book that hasn’t been checked out since 1997, I found this:
Can anybody decipher this missive?
Mystery: Found in a Book
Opinions, art, debate
Opinions, art, debate
In a library book that hasn’t been checked out since 1997, I found this:
Can anybody decipher this missive?
Clarissa's Blog 
A jiffy bag is a padded mail envelope used in Britain and Australia…
LikeLike
“A jiffy bag “
I’d never heard/seen the term, but Americans of my generation (and maybe later) would associate it maybe with popcorn… do they even still make jiffy pop?
LikeLike
“Can anybody decipher this missive?”
I was going to post something humorous but I looked up the book and so I’ll pass….
But, some quick googling indicates that ‘jiffy bag’ is a common term in Britain for a padded envelope.
My guess, someone just used it as a bookmark. Originally it was to remind a person or persons not to use padded envelopes for something or other.
Also, I see that a company that makes them wants to prevent ‘jiffy bag’ from being genericized (like jello or aspirin before it) and it may be related to that….
LikeLike
The book is actually really good. The author is a talented writer. There are many of these hidden gems all over Central America and the Caribbean. Excellent writers that nobody knows about. I unearthed this one for a student’s research project and I’m glad I did because it’s very well written.
LikeLike
When I was young, I used to paste such artifacts into my reading journal 🙂
-ethyl
LikeLike