Paper Clip History

How a pin with a twist became part of world history

They can hold papers together. You can pick locks with them, or at least movie detectives can. Until technology advanced, they could be used to rig parking meters. Paper clips are one of those inventions that seem to have been around forever, and they've acquired a myriad of uses. If you've ever wondered just who had the brilliant idea to bend a tiny piece of metal, let's look at paper clip history.

Paper clip patents

The first patent for a bent-wire paper clip was received by Samuel B. Fay in 1867. Its original use was actually in the fabric industry. A different paper clip design patented in 1877 was for fastening newspapers.

The Gem-type paper clip common today was being manufactured in Britain as early as 1890, though a machine for making such clips was patented in 1899 by a man from Connecticut named William Middlebrook.

The commonest paper clip origin myth is that the Gem-type clip (the famous oval within an oval) was invented by a Norwegian named Johan Vaaler in 1899, even though patented Gem-style paper clips were already being advertised in New York City the year prior. The world's largest paper clip is erected outside of Oslo in Vaaler's honor. During World War II, Norwegians wore paper clips in their lapels as a symbol of Nazi resistance.

Paper clip designs

The paper clip seems like such a simple invention that you might wonder why it wasn't invented sooner. In his book The Evolution of Useful Things, author Henry Petroski explains that steel wire was still new in the second half of the 19th century: "Widespread manufacture and use of the paper clip had to await not only the availability of the right wire but also the existence of machinery capable of tirelessly and reliably bending it in a flash into things that could be bought for pennies a box."

Once those tools were available, paper clip designs flourished. Strange bends and twists were incorporated with no apparent application: the banjo paper clip, its top shaped into a circle; the octo paper clip, which looked sort of like an emaciated man bouncing on a pogo stick; the Cole paper clip, shaped like a tall, slender M.

Most of these early designs fell into disuse, but a few, such as the owl paper clip, are still found today.

About twenty billion paper clips are now sold every year. 90% of those sales are to businesses.

More information on paper clips