Vail Manufacturing Co.

Chicago, Illinois
Victor and Monarch Staplers

The Vail Manufacturing Company bought the E. H. Hotchkiss Co. in 1954 and moved operations to Chicago.   Vail continued to manufacture staplers (and staple guns) under the Hotchkiss name.   In 1965 the ACCO company (owner of the Swingline brand) acquired Vail Manufacturing.

Vail made a couple of collectible staplers under their own name.   These are the Victor and Monarch staplers.   These devices appear to be identical, It is probable that Acco Changed the name of the stapler from Victor to Monarch after they acquired Vail.   The Victor staplers were available chrome plated (as shown below), with a chrome plated top and bare aluminum base, or painted with a chrome plated button.   The fully chrome plated ones are the hardest to find.

These are large, impressive looking machines measuring 8" long, 2-1/4" high, and standing 3" high.   The most distinctive feature is that large (2" diameter by 1/2" thick) chrome button on the top.

The device has a sliding anvil that allows you to set the stapler to either staple or pin.   The stapler also unhinges fully to allow it to tack.

The Victor Stapler has a unique unlocking mechanism; it took me a little while to figure it out.   Inside the stapler, there is a spring loaded sliding piece that pushes the staples toward the front of the stapler.   The sides of this piece extend outside of the stapler (the chrome "button" on the side of the stapler in Pic 1 above).   To open the stapler for loading, the button is slid all the way toward the back of the machine where it locks into place and the stapler pops open.   When the stapler is closed, the button unlocks and the sliding piece snaps forward.

These impressive looking staplers (especially the all-chrome Victor models) are not common.   They can bring as much as $60 in mint condition.   The painted Monarch versions usually sell for about $25-$30.   Scratched, rusted, or otherwise beat up examples are worth much less.

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