Mr Paperclip

I have also backblipped yesterday's Under observation ..... hope you will have a look thanks to those who already have :-)

I would like to introduce Mr Paperclip ...... he comes in very handy sometimes :-)

Invented in the 19th century!

According to the Early Office Museum, the first patent for a bent wire paper clip was awarded in the United States to Samuel B. Fay in 1867. This clip was originally intended primarily for attaching tickets to fabric, although the patent recognized that it could be used to attach papers together. Fay received U.S. patent 64,088 on April 23, 1867. Although functional and practical, Fay's design along with the 50 other designs patented prior to 1899 are not considered reminiscent of the modern paperclip design known today


Another notable paper clip design was also patented in the United States by Erlman J. Wright on July 24, 1877, patent 193,389. This clip was advertised at that time for use in fastening together loose leaves of papers, documents, periodicals, newspapers etc.


The most common type of wire paper clip still in use, the Gem paper clip, was never patented, but it was most likely in production in Britain in the early 1870s by "The Gem Manufacturing Company", according to the American expert on technological innovations, Professor Henry J. Petroski He refers to an 1883 article about "Gem Paper-Fasteners", praising them for being "better than ordinary pins" for "binding together papers on the same subject, a bundle of letters, or pages of a manuscript"


Definite proof that the modern type of paper clip was well known in 1899 at the latest, is the patent granted to William Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut on April 27 of that year for a "Machine for making wire paper clips." The drawing clearly shows that the product is a perfect clip of the Gem type.


(Information from Wikipedia)

Thanks to Laurie54 for hosting Mono Monday this month & for coming up with such interesting themes :-)

Stay safe everyone :-)