"Vintage" Staplers

From left to right -   Ace Liner 502,   Ace Pilot 402,   Ace Cadet 302,   Arrow 105,   Ace Standard 102,   Arrow 107

What do the staplers above all have in common?   The answer is:   They are all brand new, and are still being manufactured today (2004).

In the space of 10 minutes, I was able to find every one of these for sale at various online retailers.  The current list prices on these staplers range from about $17 for the Ace Cadet 302 (3rd from left) to $40 for the Ace Standard 102 (2nd from the right). Used examples of these devices are quite common.   You can usually buy any one of these staplers (used) for about $10.

Even though these staplers are still being manufactured, they show up in antique stores, at antique shows, and in online auctions described as "Vintage", "Antique", and even "Rare".   While some of these staplers were in fact manufactured as far back as the 1930's (making the early versions at least "vintage"),  not one of these staplers is,   by any definition,  rare.

At an antique show, I ran into a dealer that had an Arrow Model 107 (last stapler on the right) in its original box.   It was labeled "RARE! - Antique Stapler w/Orig. Box."   I looked it over carefully and had the following exchange with the dealer:

ME: "I don't think this stapler is very old."
DEALER: "How can you tell?"
ME: "The manufacturer's website address is on the box."

While a website address is an obvious indication that a stapler is not an antique, another clue to the age of a stapler or stapler box (or anything else for that matter) is a zip code.   Zip codes were introduced about 40 years ago.   If you can find a zip code on a device, box, or instructions, it was made after 1964.

Patent numbers or patent dates are only semi-reliable when it comes to dating an item.   If you can find a patent number on a stapler, you can look up the date in our Stapler Patent Database.   This method is only semi-reliable because something that was patented in 1922 was not necessarily made in 1922.   Patents are good for 17 years, so usually the patent number will appear on a device for 17 years after the patent was issued, some times for much longer.   For example I have an Acme Sure Shot Staple Binder that was made in the 1930's (I have the original box and invoice) with a patent date of 1895.

You can narrow down the date range even further if you have a stapler with "Patent pending" marked on it.   Go to the database and find the date when the actual pending patent was issued.   The date of manufacture will usually be a year or two before the patent date.

If a stapler has multiple patent numbers on it, the latest (highest number) patent should be used for dating purposes.

A side note: I recently saw an online auction for a "common-as-mud" Ace Pilot 402 (2nd stapler from the left) that described the stapler as "Unique".  Far from being unique, this stapler was probably the most heavily mass produced paper fastening device in history.

This is one of my pet peeves.   Unique is not a synonym for "unusual".   The word "unique" means literally "one-of-a-kind".   If more than one of something exists it cannot be unique.   Additionally it is impossible for something to be "more unique" or "one of the most unique".   I can think of only three ways that a stapler can be unique: It is a patent model, it is a prototype, or you made it yourself.   See that?   You wanted to learn about staplers and got a free vocabulary lesson......   You're welcome.

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