	Home > Stapler Pages > Acme Staple Co.
Home	History	Patents	Stapler Pages	Stapler Types	Store	Links

Acme Staple Company

Philadelphia, PA (1894-1909)
Camden, NJ (1909-1959)
Franklin, NH (1959-present)

The Acme Staple Company's early staplers are now among the most prized by collectors.

Acme Staple Company Letterhead - 1938

From the start, Acme's staplers featured an adaptable design that has stood the test of time: Design elements from Acme's first staplers can still be seen in their current Model 731.

A tribute to the adaptability of their designs is the fact that in the 1920's, when frozen wire staples supplanted virtually all other types of paper fasteners, Acme's staplers were able to utilize the new staples without modification.

The Acme Staple Company is still in business today, manufacturing a variety of commercial staple binders, fastening machinery, and staples.

Early History

Acme can trace it roots back to Philadelphia in the 1870's. Fueled by the designs of William J. Brown, Philadelphia was the Silicon Valley of stapler technology. Brown invented the first magazine-fed stapler, the first commercially successful magazine stapler - the No. 5, as well as the stapler that would later become the Acme Sure Shot and provide the basic design for most of Acme's staplers for the next 50 years. In all, Brown was awarded eight stapler-related patents.

Brown No. 5 Stapler
Click on the image for a larger view

In addition to the No. 5, Brown also made a No. 4, a No. 6, an unmarked stapler that looks like a slightly oversized Acme Sure Shot, and several commercial paper fastening machines. Several of Brown's staplers were distributed by S. J. Yarger & Co. of Philadelphia, PA., some of these bear a brass Yarger nameplate.

At some point in the 1890's, the Acme Company began manufacturing Brown's designs. Whether this was a result of an aquisition, licensing agreement, or simple name change is unclear. Also unclear is Yarger's role in the new company. Yarger continued to distribute Brown's staplers (with the Yarger name plate) into the 1900's.

The Sure Shot

Acme's first stapler was the "Sure Shot". First manufactured in late 1894, the Sure Shot measures 8" long at the base and is made from black-japanned cast iron. The Sure Shot was one of the first commercially successful self-feeding magazine type staplers. It had a capacity of 100 loose, pre-formed 7/16" wire staples that were automatically fed to the driver blade by a spring-loaded pusher-rod.

The Sure Shot (and all other vintage Acme staplers) load from the rear. To load the stapler, you turn the retainer ring on the back and remove the pusher rod. Loose wire staples were then pushed off their wooden or metal holder and slid into the stapler (Later versions of the Sure Shot used cohered - a.k.a. "frozen wire" staples). The pusher rod was then replaced. The rod has a spring loaded pusher that, when installed in the stapler forces the staples forward.

Staple jams were a common problem for the early magazine-fed staplers. Jams most often occurred when the operator failed to fully depress the driver head, resulting in a non-ejected staple that would cause subsequent staples to jam inside the machine.

Acme Sure Shot Stapler - Click to view the 1895 patent drawing

In late 1895, Elwood H. Michener and Winfield S. Ashbey (who was a witness on Brown's 1895 patent) were awarded a patent (assigned to Acme) for a mechanism on the stapler called an anti-repeat or anti-clogging spring. This spring minimized jams by preventing additional staples from being fed to the driver head until the driving mechanism was fully depressed. The anti-repeat spring was installed alongside the driver plunger in a slit in the right side of the magazine casting (when viewed from the front) and held in place with a screw.

In this case "held in place" is a relative term - the anti-repeat springs are almost always missing from existing examples. The spring has a hooked end that engages a roll pin driven through the drive plunger. If the driver plunger is pressed part of the way down and released, the hooked end of the anti repeat spring engages the roll pin. This prevents the driver plunger from travelling up far enough to allow another staple to feed. The driver plunger must be fully depressed to clear the spring. This enables the plunger to travel all the way up and allows another staple to feed.

The anti-jam feature separated the Sure Shot from it's contemporaries such as the early Brown and Yarger staplers.

On the earlier models of the Sure Shot, the operator had to manually pull the driver plunger back up after stapling. This was used as a selling point. A 1922 catalog listing states:

"There is no spring to raise the head, thereby lessening the blow necessary to drive the staple"

Later models featured a coil spring under the plunger to return the driver automatically. However, this is not a reliable way to date these staplers as users often added their own coil spring under the cap.

Acme Sure Shot Staple Binder
Click on the image for a larget view

Sure Shot staplers are fairly common today; most of the time they are in fairly good, usable condition (assuming you could find staples that fit it). There are no currently manufactured staples that fit the Sure Shot Stapler. Unfortunately, finding vintage staples for it is not easy.

The parts most likely to be missing from a Sure Shot are the anti-repeat spring and the paper guide. A complete Sure Shot stapler typically sells for $50 (incomplete, broken, or rusty examples are worth less than half of that). There is a much rarer version of the Sure Shot that is entirely nickel-plated; these sell for well over $100 (when you can find them).

The Midget

Because of its classic design, small size, and solid construction, tthe Midget Staple Binder is extremely popular among collectors. The Midget is so named because the first models were distributed by the Midget Novelty Company of New York. Very rare early examples of this stapler have the Midget Novelty Company sticker on the bottom.

The Simplex

Another stapler that is popular among collectors, the Simplex is like a Midget without a lever.

The Junior

The Junior is to the No. 2 what the Simplex is to the Midget. The Junior is essentially a No. 2 Staple binder without a lever. The Junior is the second hardest to find of the Acme staplers (the Handstitch is by far the rarest). The Junior is made from nickel-plated cast iron and measures 6-1/4" long and used 5/16" flat staples (the staples were available in tinned-steel or brass).

Like the No. 2, the early versions of the Junior have a nose piece that is secured to the body of the stapler with a single thumb screw that is mounted on a tab sticking out of the front of the main casting. Over-tightening the thumbscrew can cause this tab to break off. Later versions have a nose piece that is secured to the main casting with a spring clip.

A complete Junior stapler in good condition will usually sell for between $50 and $100. Incomplete, broken, or rusted examples are worth less than half of that. The parts most likely to be missing from these staplers are the nose piece, the paper guide, the anti-clogging spring, and the pusher rod.

Acme Junior Stapler
Photo courtesy of The Early Office Museum

The part most likely to be broken (or repaired) is the tab on the front of the main casting that holds the thumb screw for securing the nose piece on the earlier models. Junior staplers are often found with incorrect castings, see the guide for identifying Acme Staplers for details.

The No. 1 Staple Binder

The Acme No. 1 staple binder is like a Sure Shot with a lever. It takes a considerable amount of force to operate many of these early staplers. By putting a lever on the stapler, the operator could easily fasten a large number of sheets together.

The design of the No. 1 was based on Willaim Brown's 1895 patent (page two). The lever in the patent drawing is more upright than the production models, but the basic design is the same.

Acme No. 1 Staple Binder
Click on the image for a larger view

The No. 1 was manufactured in a varlety of different configurations, including an oversized version for binding magazines. A version of this stapler, the Model 731 is still made by Acme today.

The No. 2 Staple Binder

The Acme No. 2 Staple Binder is another lever-operated stapler that looks like an oversized Midget stapler. It measures 10-1/2" long at the base and has a 4-1/2" lever. It is made from nickel-plated cast iron.

With the same size body casting as the Junior, is has a similar capacity - 100 5/16" wide staples. Originally, the staples for the No. 2 were flat and made of brass (as opposed to steel wire). The original staples are extremely hard to come by. Fortunately, the No. 2 Staple Binder can also use modern "standard" staples.

Acme No. 1 Staple Binder
Click on the image for a larger view

The earlier versions of the No. 2 (as shown in the photo above) have a nose piece that is secured to the body of the stapler with a single thumb screw that is mounted on a tab sticking out of the front of the main casting. Over-tightening the thumbscrew can cause this tab to break off. Later versions have a nose piece that is secured to the main casting with a spring clip.

A complete No. 2 Staple Binder stapler in good condition will usually sell for between $30 and $60. Incomplete, broken, or rusted examples are worth less than half of that. The parts most likely to be missing from these staplers are the nose piece, the paper guide, the anti-clogging spring, and the pusher rod.

The part most likely to be broken (or repaired) is the tab on the front of the main casting that holds the thumb screw for securing the nose piece on the earlier models. No. 2 staplers are often found with incorrect castings (many examples exist with "Handstitch" or "Junior" castings). See the guide for identifying Acme Staplers for details.

The Handstitch

The Handstitch is the rarest of Acme's staplers. The Handstitch is a plier type stapler that uses 5/16" staples. It is one of the strangest fastening devices ever made. with a main body identical to the Acme No. 2. In fact, you'll occasionally see No. 2 staplers with "HANDSTITCH" cast into the body. These are not true Handstitch staplers - they are No. 2 staplers with Handstitch castings. The reason for this is unclear, however the Handstitch's rarity indicates poor sales. Perhaps Acme was using up the extra Handstitch castings on the more popular No. 2 Staple Binders.

HOME | SITE MAP | LINKS | LEGAL INFO | CONTACT US