Why Do We Use “Cc” in Emails?
Ever wondered why, when sending an email, we still use “CC” to send a copy to someone else?
The answer takes us back to a time when making a copy of a letter wasn't as simple as hitting copy and paste…
It was carbon paper!
And the story goes back more than 200 years.
In 1806, English inventor Ralph Wedgwood patented an early carbon-copying process. His invention used specially treated paper to transfer writing onto another sheet. It wasn't yet the convenient office carbon paper we remember, but it was an important step in the technology's development.
Carbon paper became far more useful with the development of the typewriter in the 19th century.
The principle was wonderfully simple.
A sheet of carbon paper was placed between sheets of ordinary paper. When a typewriter key struck the top sheet, the pressure transferred pigment from the carbon paper onto the sheet underneath, creating a duplicate.
And you could stack several sheets together.
That meant a typist could produce an original and several copies in a single operation.
One copy might go to the customer.
Another stayed in the office.
Another could be filed for future reference.
And another might go to the boss.
This process was known as “manifolding” - and carbon paper became an essential part of office administration. Some typewriters were even promoted for their ability to produce large numbers of carbon copies at once.
No photocopier.
No printer.
No Ctrl+C.
And definitely no email!
At the bottom of a business letter, you might therefore see:
CC: Mr Smith
That told the recipient that a carbon copy had also been sent to Mr Smith.
And amazingly, that little abbreviation survived the transition from typewriters to computers and then into email.
Modern email standards still define CC as “Carbon Copy” - a direct reference to the old typewriter system.
And there's a Queensland connection…
We can actually find physical evidence of carbon paper being used in Queensland more than a century ago.
The State Library of Queensland holds a notebook dating from 1916–1919 that contains several sheets of carbon paper.
And by 1960, carbon copying was clearly part of everyday office practice in Queensland.
The Queensland Agricultural Journal advised secretaries that copies of letters should be kept, noting that carbon copies could be produced using a typewriter or carbon paper.
So although the technology has largely disappeared from our offices, “CC” survived.
Every time you add someone to the CC field of an email, you're using a tiny piece of old office history that began with paper, pressure and a little bit of pigment.
From the typewriter…
to the photocopier…
to the computer…
and finally to the email sitting in your inbox.
How many of you remember actually using carbon paper?
A note on our visuals: To help bring this story to life, we've used artistic illustrations. While we've aimed for historical accuracy, they may contain errors or artistic interpretation. They are used solely for educational, non-commercial history storytelling.
