Generally when greeting cards celebrating an important event are received they are often simply stored loosely in a box or drawer. This not only causes a problem if a person wants to re-read the cards but they often tend to get lost or can suffer damage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved display device which alleviates one or more of the aforementioned problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a display device for greeting cards and like memorabilia which include a plurality of leaves, the device including a cover and a plurality of display sheaths mountable within the cover, each display sheath including at least two pocket sections each having an access opening, the access openings facing one another, the arrangement being such that each pocket section can receive a respective one of the leaves of a greeting card or the like, each pocket section including transparent regions which facilitate the viewing of the various faces of the leaves of the greeting card.

Each pocket section of each display sheath may include a back panel and a front panel secured together at least partially around the peripheral edge portion thereof with the access opening for each pocket section being adjacent one another when in use. In one embodiment the panels may be generally square or rectangular in shape having a top side edge, a bottom side edge and inner and outer side edges, the top, bottom and outer side edges being secured together with the access opening being at the inner side edge.

Preferably the front panel is of lesser width than the back panel so that the inner side edge of the front panel is spaced inwardly from the inner side edge of the back panel and forming the access opening. In one embodiment the pocket sections are secured together in the region of the inner side edge of the back panels. In another embodiment the pocket sections are separate units which are adapted to be held together when in the cover.

In one embodiment the cover may include a front cover panel and rear cover panel, the display sheaths being mounted so as to be sandwiched therebetween. The cover panels can be made from any suitable material such as plastics, paperboard or the like and can be of any suitable shape. The various components may be assembled together and held by means of screens, gluing or any other suitable mounting arrangement. The sheaths may be formed from any suitable material such as for example transparent plastics material. Each sheath may include a mounting section by which the sheath and the front and rear cover panels are operatively connected. The device may include a spine element which holds the mounting section of the sheaths therein.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in those drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a display device according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view of a display sheath for use with the display device of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a similar view to that of Figure 2 with a greeting card shown in position.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a display device generally indicated at 10 which includes a cover 12 having a front cover panel 13 and a rear cover panel 14. A plurality of display sheaths 20 for greeting cards and the like are disposed between the front and rear cover panels 13 and 14.

As best seen in Figure 2, each display sheath 20 includes two pocket sections 21 and 22 which include two panel sections sealed along their side edges 23,24 and 25 and have an open side 28 and 29 facing one another. Two pockets 26 and 27 are formed which are adapted to receive a respective leaf of a greeting card 60. In the embodiment shown the pocket sections 21 and 22 are a single unit however they may be separate from one another but adapted to be held together when positioned within the cover.

The sheaths 20 are formed from transparent plastics material and include a mounting section 30 by which the sheaths 20 and front and rear cover panels 13 and 14 can be assembled together and held by means of screws 31 or other fasteners. A flexible spine element 15 holds the sheaths 20 together.

It will be apparent that with such an arrangement each face of the greeting card can be viewed without the need to remove the greeting cards from the display sheath with which it is associated. The sheath also provides protection for the greeting card.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.