Small Files & Filing Devices

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Early Filing Devices

Small Antique Files & Filing Devices

This exhibit has two parts: (1) Letter and Document Files and (2) Data Files.

Letter and Document Files

Desktop Devices	.	.
Letter Clips Earliest patent 1843 (England) Earliest advertisements c. 1814-26? (England), 1848 (U.S.) The John Johnson Collection Exhibition 2001, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, included a c. 1814-26? advertisement by W. Davison, Alnwick, for letter clips.	Merry Phipson & Parker's Letter Clips, patented 1843 & 1845	Left: Patented 1872 Right: Van Horn Clip, patented 1876, advertised 1881
In addition to the items pictured here, the base of the Novelty Paper Fastener, patented 1880, was offered separately as the Novelty Paper Clip in 1881.	Clips, patented 1877 & 1878	Novelty Clip, patented 1880
Auto Files Earliest patent 1889	Patented 1889
Paper Weights Earliest advertisement 1847 Earliest patent 1867 (combination paper weight and pen holder)	Combination Paper Weight and Clip, patented 1876, advertised 1885-87, 1911.	Advertised 1878-1911
	Advertised by A C McClurg & Co, 1891. Similar octogonal paperweights were advertised in 1878-1911
Straight Files (a.k.a. Paper Files, Stick Files, Spear Files) Earliest patent 1878 Earliest advertisement 1869 Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, PA, advertised "paper files," c. 1850-60, but there is no illustration.	Image coming Patented 1878	Zodiac pattern, Tiffany Studios, NY, NY, c. 1900-20
Hanging Files (a.k.a. Harp Files) Earliest patent 1872 Earliest advertisement 1878	Patented 1872	Patented 1903
Paper Files Earliest patent 1870 Earliest advertisement 1886 Hustler Duplex File	Laphan's Paper File, Patented 1870	Keep's Transfer File, patented 1883. Advertised by Wm. H. Woglam, NY, NY, 1886. Shannon Clip, Yawman & Erde, Rochester, NY, patented 1878. Advertised as Shannon Single Arch File No. 1, Office Specialty Mfg. Co., Rochester, NY, 1897.
Accumulator Bill File Earliest patent 1880 Eastlist advertisement 1885	Image coming P.N. H Advertised 1885. Device is 15.75" long including loop.	.
Book and Binder Files	.	.
Letter Copying Book Earliest advertisement 1847	Letter Copying Book with copies of typed letters, 1905	Yates (Ch. 4-5) reports that the Illinois Central Railroad used copying presses to make copies of outgoing letters in press books at least from the late 1850s to 1894 .
Adhesive Stub Files Robert T. Young's Improved Adhesive Letter and Invoice File was a book into which letters were glued to narrow paper stubs. "The prepared surfaces [of the studs, which were 'gummed'] only require to be well moistened, and the paper immediately adheres." Earliest patent 1853 Earliest advertisement 1876 Books of this general type are reported to have been used by the 1820s at certain government offices in the U.K., but they were not adopted by private businesses at that time. (Yates, Ch. 2, note 29.)	Improved Adhesive Letter and Invoice File, Robert T. Young, New York, NY, patented 1853, subsequently by Asa L. Shipman & Sons, New York, NY, patented 1853-71. In 1876, Asa L Shipman & Sons advertised its "Patent Adhesive Letter File." In 1878, the latter were advertised in sizes from 6" x 9" to 12.5" x 17.5" for notes, bills, letters, invoices, price lists, and manifests. Adhesive stub files patented in 1876 were advertised in 1883-84 (above) for the same purposes as well as for postal cards. Shipment's Patent Gummed Letter and Invoice Files were still advertised in 1911.	Yates reports that the Illinois Central Railroad stored incoming letters in bound volumes from at least the late 1850s until 1896. In the late 1850s, "letters were pasted chronologically into bound books of blank pages or of adhesive stubs." "Clarke's in-letters, for example, are pasted into a bound book of gummed one-inch stubs, 'Smith and Butler's Improved Adhesive Letter, Invoice, and Music File.'" (pp. 116 including n. 56, 131, 155)
Binder Earliest patent 1854. Click to see Patent No. 23,506,awarded to Henry T. Sisson in 1854 Earliest advertisement 1878 for Sisson's Improved Magic File and Binder and 1881 for Keech's Patent Index Book and Perpetual Binder. Sisson's binder, which secured papers that were punched with four holes, was advertised for letters and invoices. Common Sense Binders were still advertised in 1911.	Russell's Common Sense Binder, Asa L. Shipman's Sons, New York, NY, patented 1877, advertised 1883.	Shipman's Common-Sense Binder, Asa I. Shipmen's Sons, New York, NY, patented 1883-92.
Loose Leaf Filing System (two-ring binder) Earliest advertisement 1899	Loose Leaf Filing System, Chicago Binder and File Co, Chicago, IL, 1899 ad	. S&T No. 2 Unimatic Two-Hole Punch, advertised c. 1911.
Board Clips and Files	.	.
Board Clip Earliest patent 1870-71 Earliest advertisement 1876	Emerson's Clip & File, J. R. Barrett & Co., Chicago, patented 1870-71. Advertised by Henry Bainbridge & Co., New York, NY, in 1876. Pack & Vanhorn, patented 1875	Eagle Clip, Clague, Schlicht, & Field, Rochester, NY, c. 1885 Philadelphia Novelty Mfg. Co., Philadelphia, PA, patented 1889. Image shows back of board clip.
Shannon File Shannon Arch Files were attached to boards and, alternatively, they were attached inside flat file drawers in letter filing cabinets. Unattached Shannon Arch Files do not seem to have been marketed, so the unattached ones that one now sees may have been removed from file drawers. According to a 1909 history of the Yawman & Erbe Mfg. Co., "About 1877 a contrivance called the Shannon Arch File, for filing letters, bills, and other papers, was invented, patented, and put on the market by a Mr. James Shannon...consisting of a board, an arch, a compressor cover, an index, and a perforator. During the year 1883, the Shannon Arch File, with all its patents and other rights, was purchased by a Rochester concern known as the [Clague, Wegman & Schlicht Co.], who had only a selling organization, possessing no manufacturing facilities. Yawman & Erbe [which had been founded in 1880] were negotiated with in reference to making the Shannon Arch File. [By 1884, Clague, Wegman & Schlicht became Clague, Wegman, Schlicht & Field; soon it became Clague, Schlicht & Field; and in 1886 it became Schlicht & Field.] In 1888 the Schlicht & Field Co. was reorganized as The Office Specialty Mfg. Co....But...their entire [U.S.] business was sold, in 1898, to Yawman & Erbe." However, The Office Specialty Mfg. Co. had a factory in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, at least as late as 1913. Patented 1879 (arch file pictured immediately to the right) Earliest advertisement 1881	Standard Arch File, Whiting Stationery Co., Buffalo, NY, undated, identical to Shannon File, patented 1879 Yawman & Erbe board clip with arch file at top and two-hole punch at bottom. Globe Union File board clip with 2-hole punch at bottom, patented 1890	Shannon Letter and Bill File and Binding Case, Clague, Schlicht & Field, Rochester, NY, c. 1885. Foster's Business File, 1881 ad Two-hole punch, patented 1891 Samson Punch, sold by Levy Brothers & Co., Bank Supplies, Indianapolis, IN
Bill File (a.k.a. Bill Holder) Earliest patent 1865 Earliest advertisement 1878 John W. Clothier, Philadelphia, PA, advertised "bill files," c. 1858, but there is no illustration, and the date may be later than 1858. (Hagley Museum and Library)	L. M. Olmstead's Improved Bill File No. 1, L. H. Olmstead, New York, NY, patented 1868	Bill & Paper File, H. Baldwin, patent model, 1878 Bill-File, W. R. Clough, patent illustration, 1875 Clough's Improved Bill File, W. R. Clough, Newark, NJ, patented 1882
Account File Earliest patent 1895	National Account File Co., Fremont, OH, patented 1895 Fremont Account File Co., Fremont, OH	Weiss Account File
Box Files	.	.
File Box (or pigeon-hole for folded papers) Patent 1866 Earliest advertisement 1877 "Bill head boxes" were advertised by William H. Maurice, Philadelphia, PA, in 1847, but without an illustration. "Bankers' cases" were advertised by John W. Clothier, Philadelphia, PA, c. 1858, but without an illustration. (Hagley Museum and Library) In 1866, T.K. Sterrett & W.R. Ferrell were granted a US patent for a letter file-box or pigeon-hole, shaped like those in the images to the right, with an internal mechanism for holding folded letters in place.	C. C. & A. L. Chamberlain Document and Box Envelope, 1877 ad	Paper Files, John Polhemus, New York, NY, 1886 ad
Amberg Self-Indexing File and Binder "Patented in 1869, a mere wooden tray containing loose sheets indexed from A to Z, with a pressing bar to hold the contents securely. When this File became full of letters a means of binding the volume with wires was provided. A crude device, yet it was much better than any method then used." Patented 1869 Advertised 1876	Amberg's Self-Indexing Letter File and Binder	Amberg's File and Binder, 1876 ad
Letter File Earliest patent 1877 Earliest advertisement 1878 The John Johnson Collection Exhibition 2001 (see above) included a c. 1814-26? advertisement by W. Davison, Alnwick, for "letter files," but there is no illustration.	Brown's Letter File, Culver, Page, Hoyne & Co., Chicago, IL, patented 1877, advertised 1878	Improved Letter and Invoice File, J. W. & Co., patented 1883
Tapley's Self-Indexing Letter Files, Milton Bradley & Co., Springfield, MA, patented 1879, advertised 1887	Tapley's Self-Indexing Letter Files, Milton Bradley & Co., Springfield, MA, patented 1879	Du Bois Bill or Letter File, Frank G. Du Bois, New York, NY, patented 1884
.	Leader File, John Polhemus, New York, NY, 1886 ad. Same illustration used in 1883 ad. Amberg's Patent Transfer Case, advertised in 1881, is similar	Victor letter file with one-hole punch, 1886
File Holders Woodruff's File-Holder was patented in 1868 and advertised in 1876. Woodruff's Improved File Holder was patented in 1884-89 and advertised in 1887-99. The original and improved file-holders were similar in appearance. Earliest patent 1868 Earliest advertisement 1876	Woodruff's Improved File Holder, E.W. Woodruff, Washington, DC, "for filing letters, bills, deeds, wills, vouchers, briefs, pamphlets &c.," patented 1884-89.	Woodruff's Improved File Holder, patented 1884-89
Folders The John Johnson Collection Exhibition 2001 (see above) included a c. 1814-26? advertisement by W. Davison, Alnwick, for "ivory folders." Holden & Cutter, Boston, MA, advertised "paper folders," c. 1845-60; Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, PA, advertised "ivory folders," c. 1850-60. (Both Hagley Museum and Library) None of these ads is illustrated.	.	.
Tie Envelopes Earliest advertisement 1878	Congress Tie Envelopes, advertised 1878-84	.
Bellows Files Earliest advertisement 1878 Earliest patent 1883 An 1884 advertisement states: "Alphabetically indexed, suitable for letters, notes, drafts, postals, or miscellaneous papers."	1883 ad	Falcon File, Patented 1895. When closed, this looks like a letter file box.
Document Files	The Handy Document File, A. C. Barler Mfg. Co., Chicago, IL, used in 1899	.
Letter Trays Earliest advertisement 1887 Earliest patent 1885	Advertised by Geo. D Barnard & Co., St. Louis, MO, 1887	Globe Desk Tray, Office Specialty Co., Pittsburgh, PA, patented 1885 Acme Wire Letter Tray, patented 1890
Office Baskets Earliest advertisement 1883	1883 ad	.

Data Filing Systems

Filing systems that were used for data were also used as indexes for other filing systems

Ledgers & Blank Books Earliest advertisement English for account books c. 1742, for copy books, ledgers, and other account books c. 1814-26? Earliest US advertisement for account books 1831, for ledgers & blank books 1847. The John Johnson Collection Exhibition 2001 (see above) included a c. 1742 advertisement by Samuel Harding, London, for account books; a 1783-85 advertisement by Abel Sweetland, Exeter, for account books; and a c. 1814-26? advertisement by W. Davison, Alnwick, for copy books, ledgers, and other account books. In 1831, John March & Co., Boston, identified itself as an account book manufacturer.	Doubleday & Latimers, New York, NY, 1855 Ledger used in 1860	Cameron, Amberg & Co., Chicago, IL, 1887
Loose-Leaf Ledgers & Binders Earliest invention 1894 (See Gerri Flanzraich, "The Library Bureau and Office Technology," Libraries & Culture, 1993, pp. 403-29.) Earliest patent 1896 Earliest advertisement 1896	Dade Improved Loose Leaf Ledger, Wm. G. Johnson & Co., Pittsburgh, PA, 1900 ad	Jones Perpetual Ledger, Jones Perpetual Ledger Co., Chicago, IL, patented 1899, advertised 1905
Card Index Files Card files were in use at the Bank of England in 1852, at the Harvard University Library in 1860, and in a US bank in 1884. (See Flanzraich) Sherwood's Patent Check Sorter and the Globe Banker's Case, which were similar to card index files but used to organize and store checks, were advertised in 1887. (Geo. D. Barnard & Co., Price List and Catalogue: Stationery and Office Supplies, St. Louis, MO.) Earliest patent 1887. (See Flanzraich) Earliest advertisement 1896.	1897 ad	Globe Co., 1896-99
Visible Indexes Visible indexes came in several styles -- swinging panel, flat book, drawer. Earliest advertisements: 1905 (Revolving Directory & Register, shown to right), 1909 (Rotary Instantaneous Index, The Time Saver Co., Boston, MA. S-11-09), 1910 (Rand Revolving Index, Time-Saver Co., Boston, MA, S-4-1910).	Revolving Directory & Register, Mail Order Mfg. Co., Chicago, IL, 1905 ad	Rotary Reference File, Postindex Co., Inc., Boston, MA
File, John A. Manson, 1913	Acme Visible Records Book, Acme Visible Records Co., Chicago, IL	Acme Visible Records, 1921 ad
.	Kardex, 1923 ad	Click on the two links (1, 2) to view c. 1940 photos of a visible card index from the Multimedia Archives, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. Then click the "Back" button on your browser to return here.
Sortergraph	Sortergraphs used to organize accounts, Canadian National Railways. Canadian Science & Technology Museum, CN003802.	.

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