HOLE PUNCHES
Hole punches have been around since the early 1870's therefore, we have a great selection of antique and vintage machines for review and examination. Many machines produced today are based on designs dating to 1912. Today, we refer to this office machine as a hole punch. During the period dating from 1874 to the 1930s these machines were known as paper punch, hole punchers, perforators, or paper perforators. There was no real standard for a machine that punched holds in paper. In 1882 James Shannon filed for a patent for his paper file. While the patent is for a complete paper file, his patent described the paper punch that was part of his invention. After reviewing the patent one is left wondering if he was at a loss as to what to call his hole punch. As a result, his invention is overlooked by many and the credit for the invention of the hole punch has been credited to someone else.
