Guide To Antique and Vintage Fasteners

Curtis A. Scaglione’s

Guide to

Antique and Vintage

FASTENERS

2012

© Copyright 2012 Curtis A. Scaglione all rights are reserved. The photographs and text are the property of the

writer and cannot be used without written approval.



Preface

When I started collecting staplers, I quickly discovered several facts. There
was no written history available. There were only a few collectors known.
Collecting staplers wasn’t considered a hobby and what information that was
available was inaccurate. There were in fact, other machines that were used to
fasten papers or documents together. These machines were fasteners and not
staplers. At times it was difficult to stay within the boundary of desk top
stapler.

It was easier to collect fasteners as a whole. Desk top staplers are the most
common of fasteners and the desk top fasteners are less common. But, I was
also intrigued by hand held staplers and fasteners. What is the difference, you
ask? A hand held fastener uses no staples to fasten documents where the hand
held stapler does. Both machines are held in the hand while in operation.

It was quickly obvious that to really know the history, it would take years of
research to uncover the history of the stapler. Who designed the different
staplers, who owned the companies, who sold the staplers and who made
them. Nearly every photograph that depicted the people and the places
staplers were made, which number in the hundreds, were saved. The
questions were pursued until an answer was found or until it was determined
that, for now, an answer was not available.

Of the few stapler companies still around, only Swingline responded to my
request. As it turned out, they did have a one page history of the stapler. Their
simple act of kindness was greatly responsible for the foundation of the
history that I have built over the last 15 years. Many other companies refused
to respond. It was my own conclusion that they never maintained their own
history because it was not a priority.

I discovered this when I wrote to the President of one of the large companies
as I was attempting to date a very early example they had produced. Even
after providing a copy of the patent and a photograph of the machine. He
could not find any reference to this machine. He referred the matter to a

senior employee that had no knowledge of the machine. The point to this is
simple. BOSTITCH invented what is probably the first electric stapler and they
have no history of it. Something like that is a selling point and good for
advertisement. The year was 1937. A patent had been approved and
manufacturing has begun. The only reference to electric staplers can be found
on line is that, “ they began to be produced in the mid 1950’s.”

Overall, my collection numbers in the hundreds. I often find another example
that I will need to add before my collection is complete. Truth be known, I will
never complete my collection.

Collecting is but a small part of the hobby. Research has its own reward.
Discovering one fact that leads to another and another and those facts need to
be researched.

In the mid 1990’s the only way to obtain a copy of a patent was to go to the
patent office. It wasn’t for a few more years that patents were made available
from the patent office on line. It only took a short time to obtain the necessary
programs to gain access to their vast files and more information became
available.

Over the past 15 years I have operated two web sites, The Stapler Exchange
and Mystaplers.com. My newsletter “ADHERE THIS” was also instrumental in
getting the word out and then came the responses. Collectors, the curious and
family members of those responsible for the staplers started to come in.

Curtis A. Scaglione

Content

Chapter 1

Staplers Index

Chapter 2

Krimp’It

Chapter 3

Electric Stapler

Chapter 4

Advertisement

Chapter 5

Patents

MAKE INDEX
ACCO
Ace PAGE
Acme 62
Ajax 1
APSCO 1, 40, 66, 67, 78, 79
Arrow 1
Automatic 1 , 71
Bates 2, 64, 65, 67, 68
Bostitch 2, 70
Bump 2, 41- 47, 66, 72, 73, 92
Century 2, 48 – 52, 63, 64, 68, 69, 70, 72, 86
Chadwick 3, 68, 71, 84
Challenge 3, 68
Champion 3
Clipless 72
Cliplox 3
Compo 4, 71
Crofoot 4
Duofast 4, 71, 80
Eveready 4, 72
Flash 5 , 65
General 5, 70, 71, 72, 80
5, 70
5

MAKE PAGE
Greenfield 6
Hansen 6
Heller 6
Hercules 6
Heyl 83
Hotchkiss 7, 53 – 54, 63 , 65, 67, 81, 87, 88 , 89
Hutchison 7, 70, 73
Ideal 7
Irvin 7, 66, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80
Jahn 85
Keyes 8
Keystone 8
King 8
Krantz 8
Krimp’It 9, 15 – 38, 74, 76
Lightning 9, 74
Markwell 9, 55, 63, 64, 74, 76
McGill 9, 82
Mercury 10, 75
Monarch 10
Neva-Clog 10, 74, 76
No-Clip 10
Novelty 11, 76
Pinzit 11

MAKE PAGE
Presto 11, 91
Remington 11
Security 12
Simplex 12
Staplex 12, 56 – 58, 76, 77
Star 12
Sun 13
Supreme 13
Swingline 13, 59 – 60, 64, 65, 75, 89
Tatum 13, 75, 76, 77
Vail 14
Victor 14
Welder 14
White 14

CHAPTER ONE

Stapler Index

Make: ACE Make: AJAX
Model: Pilot Model: None
Made By: Ace Fastener Corporation Made By: Ajax Tool and Die Company

Chicago, Illinois Racine, Wisconsin
Information: Patents date to 1936. Ace has Information: Manufactured in your choice of
been and still produces an excellent product. colors, red, blue, black or green.

Make: ACME Make: APSCO
Model: Sure Shot Model: Square Eyeleter & Paper Fastener
Made By: Acme Staple Company Ltd. Made By: Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co.

Camden, New Jersey Chicago, Illinois
Information: circa early 20th century Information: This is a rare machine

1

Make: ARROW Make: BATES
Model: Desk Top Model: Model A
Made By: Arrow Fastener Company Made By: Bates
Information: Models B, and C are common.
Brooklyn, New York This Model A is a little harder to find. D is very
Information: This is the Commander, a favorite hard
among collectors.

Make: AUTOMATIC Make: BOSTITCH
Model: Staple Gun Model: AO
Made By: Automatic Stapler Company Made By: Boston Wire Stitcher Company
Information: Evanston, Illinois
East Greenwich, RI
Information: Introduced in 1914

2

Make: BUMP Make: CHADWICK
Model: Desk Top Model: Desk Model
Made By: Bump Paper Fastener Company Made By: Chadwick - Miller
Information: Made in Japan
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Information: Circa 1920

Make: CENTURY Make: CHAMPION
Model: Desk Top Model: Desk Top
Made By: Century Machine Co. NY Made By: Unknown
Information: Invent. Uncommon, circa 1897 Information: circa 1940

3

Make: CLIPLESS Make: COMPO
Model: Desk Top Model: Desk Top
Made By: Clipless Paper Fastener Machine Co. Made By: Compo Corporation & Sales Co.

Newton, Iowa Westport, Connecticut
Information: circa 1920 Information: Circa 1920

Make: CLIPLOX Make: CROFOOT
Model: Hand held fastener Model: Desk Top
Made By: Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. Made By: J. B. Crofoot Company
Information: Invented by Max Gessler 1909
Chicago, Illinois
Information: Circa 1917

4

Make: DUO FAST Make: FLASH
Model: Trigger Action Stapler
Made By: Fastener Corporation Model: Desk Model
Information: Invent. Edward Krantz 1939
Made By: American Die and Tool Corp.
Chicago,Il

Information: Invent. C.I. Tager and Hans C.
Stockel

Make: EVEREADY Make: GENERAL
Model: D Model: Desk Model
Made By: Everready MFG. CO. Made By: The General Stapling Machine Co.
Information: Excellent displace piece Information: Only seen once

5

Make: GREENFIELD Make: HELLER
Model: Desk Model
Made By: Greenfield MFG. Co. Model: 2-S
New York, NY
Information: Invent. Edwin T, Greenfield Made By: The Heller Company

Information: The Heller Company only
produced a few staplers, the rest were
purchased from existing companies, like
Hotchkiss and Wilson – Jones.

Make: HANSEN Make: HERCULES
Model: Desk Model Model: Desk Model
Made By: A.L. Hansen MFG. Co. Chicago Made By: The American Die And Tool Corp.
Information: Invent. E. Krantz
Chicago, Il
Information: Hans C. Stockel

6

Make: HOTCHKISS Make: IDEAL
Model: 1 Model: Tacker
Made By: E.H. Hotchkiss Sales Co. Made By: The Consolidated Staple Co. NY
Information: Indicated Pat. Pend.
Norwalk, Conn
Information: Circa 1901

Make: HUTCHISON Make: IRVIN
Model: Spool-O-Wire Model: Desk Model
Made By: Automatic Sharpener Co. Made By: Alex H. Irvin Co.

Chicago,, Il Curwensville, Penn
Information: Circa: 1919 Information: Also known as the New Irvin

7

Make: KEYES Make: KING
Model: Hand Held Model: Heavy Duty
Made By:NY Carbon & Transfer Paper Co. Made By: King Fastener Co. E. Greenwich, CO
Information: Circa 1896 Information: circa: 1940

Make: KEYSTONE Make: KRANTZ
Model: Desk Top Model: Desk Top
Made By: Unknown Made By: Krantz MFG. Co.
Information: Circa 1886 Information: circa: 1933

8

Make: KRIMP’IT Make: MARKWELL
Model: Model 1 Model: S-O Bro / Staple Mate
Made By: Krimp’It Fastener Co. Made By:Markwell
Information: Only two models ever made. Information: An uncommon model
These fasteners are difficult to find.

Make: LIGHTNING Make: MCGILL
Model: 10 Tacker Model: Single Stroke Staple Press
Made By: Unknown Made By: George W. McGill
Information: Information: Circa 1879

9

Make: MERCURY Make: NEVA-CLOG
Model: Jr. Model: Stapling Pliers
Made By: Consolidated Wire Products Co. Made By: Neva-Clog Products, Inc.

New York, NY Bridgeport, Conn
Information: Circa: 1955 Information: Circa: 1936

Make: MONARCH Make: NO-CLIP
Model: Desk Top
Made By: believed to be early Hercules Model: Hand Held
Information: Circa: 1945
Made By: Stamping and Tool Co. La Crosse, WI.

Information: Simular to other hand held
fasteners, this No-Clip Paper Fastener is
beautifully detailed.

10

Make: NOVELTY Make: PRESTO
Model: Paper Fastener Model: Delux Desk Model
Made By: P.N. MFG. Co. Made By: Metal Specialties MFG. Co.
Information: Circa 1879
Melrose Park, IL
Information: Circa: 1946

Make: PINZIT Make: REMINGTON
Model: Pin Fastener Machine
Made By: The Pinzit Sales Corp. Model: Spool O Wire

New York, NY Made By: Remington Typewriter Company
Information: Circa 1926 Information: Bought out Spool O Wire
Company

11

Make: SECURITY Make: STAPLEX
Model: Hand held Model: S-54
Made By: Consolidated Spec. Corp Mfrs. Made By: The Staplex Company

Chicago, Il. Brooklyn, NY
Information: Uncommon Information: Circa early 1950’s

Make: SIMPLEX Make: STAR
Model: Desk Top
Made By: Worcester , Mass Model: Desk Top
Information: Patent Pending
Made By: E.H. Hotchkiss Sales Co.
Information: Hotchkiss maintained the Star
name from the 1896 purchase.

12

Make: SUN Make: SWINGLINE
Model: Desk Top
Made By: Sun Mfg. Co. Model: Babe
Information: Invent. Lee Burridge
Made By: Parrot Speed / Speed / Swingline
Information: First model for the now Swingline
Company

Make: SUPREME Make: TATUM
Model: Desk Top Model: Executive
Made By:H.C. Stockel Made By: Wilson Jones
Information: Circa 1937 Information: A beautiful circa 1960’s example

13

Make: VAIL Make: WELDER
Model: Desk Model Model: Paper Fastener
Made By: Vail MFG. Co. Made By: Paper Welder, Inc. Medina, NY
Information: bought out Hotchkiss Staple Co. Information: Circa 1956

Make: VICTOR Make: WHITE
Model: Desk Top Model: Staple Inserter
Made By: E.W. Carpenter MFG Co. Made By: Unknown
Information: Circa : 1888
Bridgeport, Conn
Information: Invent: J.T. Kilbride 1937

14

CHAPTER TWO

The Krimp’It

15

Krimp’It Paper Crimping Device
Research by

Curtis Scaglione

June 19, 2012

CHAPTER 1 - The Right People in the Right Place
CHAPTER 2 - The Right Place
CHAPTER 3 - Advertisements
CHAPTER 4 - Trademark and Patents
CHAPTER 5 - Photographs

© 2012 by Curtis Scaglione
All rights reserved. With the exception of the US Patent and Trade Mark information, which is
public record, No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written
permission of Curtis Scaglione.

16

Krimp’It Paper Crimping Device

1931 - 1934

Seiders-Mather Corporation

155 E Superior St.

Chicago, Illinois

Until recently, this crimper was unknown to me and probably unknown to many other
collectors as well. Upon acquiring my first Krimp’It, I discovered that it was manufactured under
the second of two patents. My only resource was the fastener itself. Any and all data was taken
from the fastener in hopes of discovering who was responsible. Unfortunately, only minimal
information was available, which caused some concern. The patent provided a few clues as to
the players involved with the machine by providing their names. Research was conducted on
each person. Overall, like any good investigation, one clue leads to another and another until
the story is told.

The name Seiders - Mather Corporation was engraved into the paper table. With that
information, I was able to start my search. It wasn’t long before patent information was
presented.

It was a surprise to find that not one but two patents were issued for this machine. As the
Krimp’It is unusual, I could only wonder if my example was produced with the second patent
because the company responsible decided the first patent did not meet up to standards. It was
likely that this was the only model produced.

I was completely surprised when I found the second example. This example required some
attention, but with time, it earned its place in the collection. This model was based on the first
patent. This was becoming an even bigger challenge because until a week ago, I never knew
the Krimp’It even existed.

Reviewing the patents quickly identified the inventors and executives of the company.

17

CHAPTER 1 – The Right People in the Right Place

William N. Thode, Inventor – Thode was also the co-inventor of a Stock-controlled feed for
presses which was patented in 1924. No other patients were found bearing his name. It was
also stated that he was a resident of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Charles C. Mason, Developed an improved model based on original model. Nothing else could
be found on Mason, but the search for information is not over.

Chas R. Koursh was listed on both patents as the witness. It would only be logical to speculate
that he was also employed by Seiders – Mather Corporation, but in what capacity has yet to be
discovered.

Charles H. Rosenfeld, President - Referred to as the Pivot man for the Seiders-Mather
Corporation, Rosenfeld was remembered as a motivator. His family left to the Chicago
University over 19.5 linear feet of materials on motivational salesmanship and sales techniques;
reports, training publications, posters, and placards on sales management and moneymaking
methods; material on sales talks, sales contests, and other promotions. His papers are
reportedly dating from 1906-1974. Oh, did I fail to mention there were also boxes on the
Krimp’It? No, well, that is because until June of 2012, those documents were not available to
the general public. It was through contact with Mr. Rosenfeld’s family that the doors at the
University of Chicago started opening for this research project.

Born on May 29, 1886, Charles worked in sales
for most of his life. Records indicated that he was
a traveling salesman from around 1917 up to the
1920’s. From the 1920’s to the 1960 he earned
his place in various companies holding executive
positions. It was during this period that he was
brought on board with Seth Seiders to organize
the many facets the Seiders Syndicate had
acquired which included the Krimp’It Fastener.

In 1931, Charles Rosenfeld, L. R. Fox, F. A.
Mudgett, and Wirt Hurd, all former executives of
Seiders, Inc., took over the company, renamed it
The Seiders-Mather Corporation, and patented
and sold the Krimp'It paper fastening device.

18

From the sources available, it was easy to establish the kind of man Charles Rosenfeld was,
He was friendly and easy to approach. His salesmanship skills came naturally and earned
him great respect in the industry. He did retire in 1960 and enjoyed 23 years of retirement
before passing away in 1983.

Seth Seiders, Born in 1883 in Paulding Ohio, Seth Seiders seems to have entered this life driven
by an intense desire to make money. It was said that he worked as a child selling magazines,
trapping animals for the pelts and he sold blackberries. Even in his youth, his goal was to make
a million dollars.

Before long, he had grown into “a big, well-dressed, blonde-headed man with an arresting gray
eye,” as he was described in 1926. Seiders started a short-lived business, sold advertising for a
newspaper, traveled the country selling door to door, married a businesswoman, and ultimately
did make a million dollars

How he made that money, though, is a matter of some debate. After moving to Chicago, he
founded and presided over Seth Seiders Incorporated, and built a tiny empire selling printed
pep talks and motivational sales booklets.

During the same years of the first half of the 1920s that Seiders was building his business in
Chicago, Al Capone was taking over the Chicago underworld—making millions every year off
liquor and gambling and prostitution—bribing and threatening and striking deals with countless
lawmen and politicians and businessmen. The rumors were that Seth Seiders and Al Capone
had mutual business interest.

In 1924, Seiders left Chicago for New Mexico, for the Jemez Mountains, but continued to spend
at least half of every year in Illinois. He bought a large piece of property in the Jemez
Mountains’ Cebolla Valley, built a house, a dancehall, an exclusive and technically illegal bar, a
little store, and numerous outbuildings. Stables held horses for his guests to ride, hop plants
grew around a mysteriously locked building, and there was more than enough room for friendly
local girls, banquets, and slot machines. The property became known as the Rancho Rea, after
Seiders’ wife, Rhea, and Seiders’ friends and associates would come west from Chicago and the
East Coast just to see it. One of those people that spent time at the ranch was Al Capone.

Wirt W. Hurd, Mr. Hurd was the Treasurer for the Seiders – Mather Company. Unfortunately
nothing has been found on this individual.

19

CHAPTER 2 – The Right Place
Chicago, Illinois was the place to be at the turn of the 20th century. The mechanical revolution
was alive and well and living in Chicago. Several of the stapler and fastener companies were
established in the city and everyone knew everyone.
The Seiders – Mather Corporation occupied offices at 155 -165 East Superior Street, Chicago,
Illinois. The building is still occupied today and was for a period of time the offices of E. H.
Sargent & Company, the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Northwestern Campus of the
University of Chicago.

20

CHAPTER 3 – Advertisements

It is hard to believe hours were spent looking for any advertisements associated with the
Krimp’It and nothing was found. The following ads were found in the papers donated to the
University of Chicago.
What these documents do is confirm that the machine was produced in numbers and marketed
to the public. Also, that the Seiders – Mather Corporation employed men to sell their product
throughout the county. It was because of the lack of examples and the lack of any
advertisements that one may consider the machine was not sold nationally. But now is does
appear salesmen were moving the fastener, perhaps not in large numbers.

21

22

23

24

CHAPTER 4 – Trademark and Patents

(Trademark)

25

26

(Original Patent)
27

28

29

30

(Assignment of Patent by William N. Thode)
31

(Patent Improvements)
32

33

34

35

(Assignment of Patent Improvements by Charles C. Mason)
36

CHAPTER 5 – Photographs

(Original Model)
(Improved Model)
37

This is the paper table with trademark and Seiders-Mather Corporation logo.
From the plate, it would appear that the company produced these fasteners before the patent
was approved.

38