Paper clip

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A paper clip (or sometimes paperclip) is an instrument used to hold sheets of paper together, usually made
of steel wire bent to a looped shape. Most paper clips are variations of the Gem type introduced in the 1890s
or earlier, characterized by the almost two full loops made by the wire. Common to paper clips proper is their
utilization of torsion and elasticity in the wire, and friction between wire and paper. When a moderate number of
sheets are inserted between the two "tongues" of the clip, the tongues will be forced apart and cause torsion in
the bend of the wire to grip the sheets together. Too many sheets will cause the elastic limit of the material to be
exceeded, resulting in permanent deformation.
Shape and composition
Paper clips usually have an oblong shape with straight sides, but may also be triangular or circular, or have
more elaborate shapes. The most common material is steel or some other metal, but moulded plastic is also
used. Some other kinds of paper clip use a two-piece clamping system. Recent innovations include multi-colored
plastic-coated paper clips and spring-fastened binder clips.
History
According to the Early Office Museum, the first patent for a bent wire paper clip was awarded in the United
States to Samuel B. Fay, in 1867. This clip was originally intended primarily for attaching tickets to fabric,
although the patent recognized that it could be used to attach papers together.
[1]
Fay received U.S. patent
64,088 on April 23, 1867. Although functional and practical, Fay's design along with the 50 other designs
patented prior to 1899 are not considered reminiscent of the modern paperclip design known today.
[2]
Another
notable paper clip design was also patented in the United States by Erlman J. Wright in 1877. This clip was
advertised at that time for use in fastening newspapers.
[1]
The most common type of wire paper clip still in use, the Gem paper clip, was never patented, but it was
most likely in production in Britain in the early 1870s by "The Gem Manufacturing Company", according to
the American expert on technological innovations, Professor Henry J. Petroski.
[3]
He refers to an 1883 article
about "Gem Paper-Fasteners", praising them for being "better than ordinary pins" for "binding together papers
on the same subject, a bundle of letters, or pages of a manuscript".
[4]
Since the 1883 article had no illustration of
this early "Gem", it may have been different from modern paper clips of that name. The earliest documentation
of its existence is an 1894 advertisement for "Gem Paper Clips".
[5]
In 1904 Cushman & Denison registered a
trade mark for the "Gem" name in connection with paper clips. The announcement stated that it had been used
since March 1, 1892, which may have been the time of its introduction in the United States.
[5]
Paper clips are
still sometimes called "Gem clips", and in Swedish the word for any paper clip is "gem".
Definite proof that the modern type of paper clip was well known in 1899 at the latest, is the patent granted to
William Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut on April 27 of that year for a "Machine for making wire paper
clips." The drawing clearly shows that the product is a perfect clip of the Gem type.
[6][7]
The fact that
Middlebrook did not mention it by name, suggests that it was already well known at the time. Since then
countless variations on the same theme have been patented. Some have pointed instead of rounded ends, some
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