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Welcome to the Old Staplers Website.

This website is a repository of information about antique staplers and paper fastening devices made or patented in the U.S.A. before 1950. I've tried to include most of the antique and vintage staplers that are of interest to collectors. Don't laugh, there are a few of us that collect antique staplers.

McGill Staple Press 1879

Finding Information About a Specific Stapler
If you know the brand name or manufacturer of the stapler, go to our stapler list page and click on the link for the stapler.

If you have a patent number or patent date, you can search our stapler patent database. We currently have patent data (including complete drawings) for over 300 devices. If all else fails, simply browse this site until you find what you are looking for. If you can't find what you are looking for, email us and we'll be happy to research it for you.

Stapler History
Legend has it that the first stapler was developed during the 1700's for the exclusive use of King Louis XV of France. The ornate handmade staples for this device (some accounts claim that the staples were made of gold) were imprinted with the royal court's insignia. The first patented paper fastener was not a stapler but an eyelet machine patented in 1859. The first commercially successful device that you'd recognize as a stapler was the... More...

Types of Staplers
For the most part, today's staplers are homogenous. They may differ in outward appearance but all use the same type of staples, and fasten paper in much the same way. This wasn't always the case. Prior to the introduction of "modern" staples in the 1920's, there were a number of (sometimes ingenious) paper fastening technologies available. Each paper fastener had its advantages and disadvantages... More...

Why Staplers?
There's a collector for everything. I collect staplers. It all started innocently enough. I'm a part-time antique tool dealer. I buy auction and estate lots of old tools. When other dealers are putting together these lots, anything that is old-looking and made of metal ends up being tossed into the lot. Typically, I'll sell the decent antique tools, toss the junk, and keep or sell any other miscellaneous stuff that's interesting. After a time, I noticed that I'd collected more than a few staplers. The one that first caught my eye and made me think, "These would be kinda cool to collect" was a late-style Acme Midget. A few years and few hundred staplers later, I'm hooked, and I'm not the only one. Check out our links page for other stapler and paper fastener collecting sites.

One attraction of collecting staplers is that they are not a trendy or popular collectible and are therefore relatively cheap. Speaking of which, I'm always looking to add to my collection. If you see a stapler mentioned on this site without an accompanying photograph, chances are good that I don't have it in my collection and I'm interested in buying it. If you have an antique stapler or vintage paper fastening device that you would like to sell, please email me and we can try to work something out.

Acme Midget Stapler Binder - c. 1930

Finally, I'm continually adding to and improving this site. If you have any photographs, ads, or other information that you would like to contribute, please email me. If I use what you have, I'll credit you and provide a link to your website (if you have one). Thanks for looking.