Correct Term For This Item

Hi there,
I am not a collector but have been given a 'collection' and therefore my knowledge is that of an imbecile when it comes to stamps.
I have been sifting and sorting and came across the item attached but cannot seem to find out the correct description to put it under. Best I have found so far is 'cutout'.
it seems to be quite a heavy card so I would imagine it was part of an envelope of some sort?
Could someone help me out please?
Thanking you,

trimmed cut square?? Cut squares usually had a neat border & were cut from envelopes printed with postage. Now most collectors of postal stationary (modern) collect entire envelope, rather than cut the indicia out. This could also be from a post card since the stock appears heavy.

hi Bean link to all the types...
http://postalstationary1.mybigcomme...-plimpton-1/

I think the term is "cut to shape".

Thank you, these indicias seem to trend in a certain era. Any idea as to the reasoning?

Probably to save album pages, two envelopes will be all you could mount to a page, 3 seems very crowded to me, no room for text.

The indica from postal stationary from other counties are sometime different shapes. I think that is where the term "cut to shape" has more meaning, ovals like the one you show where usually "cut square" and is what they are sometimes called.

Cut-to-shape was done with some classic stamps, too, like the Great Britain embossed issues.

A little bit of history is needed here . You need to go back to the 1880's and 1890's to when they first were collected . They original were collected and traded cut -to-shape ,as album printers came on the scene ,the pages in these early albums gave very little space between stamp,so cut to shape was standard .
It was later that collecting trended to cut squares and huge margins became the correct way and anything less than 2 X 2 cut was look down upon .It is at this time albums started to drop the section of cut squares .

Sorry to say, if you are sifting and sorting.... Welcome..you are a collector

In Australia we have a healthy market for these, a priced catalogue (Aust issues)

I have adopted the American philatelist Mr. Jay Carrigan's idiom of "Mutilated Stationery"
In Australia they are generally known as "Cut Squares"

The beauty of these, they can be had for pennies, and anyone low on cash,
can enjoy he hobby and have plenty to study.

Perhaps we can make a collector out of you.
They are enumerated in the Scott specialist catalogue,
and are great sources of good clear postmarks, another collecting discipline.

Jay Carrigan and I had number of mail exchanges mostly regarding wartime mail between India and USA as well as to correct some incorrect description of Índia Portuguêsa stamp listing which he put on sale in his site. Unfortunately Jay passed away on August 22,2015.

Personally I do not consider postal stationery cutouts collectable at all unless a specific entire is exceedingly rare or the imprint has a very rare postmark.

These cutouts cannot be exhibited in any FIP-accredited philatelic exhibitions except in Open Class.