Stapler of The Week: Metal Spec. Mfg. Co.’s “Presto Stapler Deluxe”

2014-06-25-a IMG_7283 IMG_7284 IMG_7285 2014-06-25-b IMG_7290 2014-06-25-c IMG_7288 2014-06-25-d IMG_7291UPDATE: I was reading Curtis A. Scaglione’s “Guide to Antique and Vintage Fasteners” today and noticed the patent for this stapler, which matches the last patent stamped into the bottom of the Presto Deluxe: 2,399,761, invented 1940, patented 1946. I wasn’t too far off in my reckoning!

presto-patent-1

Hey, even more info on the Presto Stapler Deluxe over at American Stationer!

Updated: October 25, 2018 — 10:26 pm

14 Comments

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  1. Cute looking little stapler. Too bad perfomance is lacking.

  2. Hahaha I think its hilarious they had to emboss in the metal that it holds 900 staples. It’s as if it was their slogan. Very used car salesmen. And just as hilarious is that despite that permanence in the metal, the questionable number 900. Paradox.

  3. I have two of these, both non-deluxe, and with no rubber feet. The base is plain metal, not enameled like yours. The name plate on the top is oval. One says simply, “Pats. applied for” on the bottom. The other has the patent number and the statement about using 165 staples. The text on both is printed perpendicular to yours.

    1. Interesting.. I wonder if they were also made by “Metal Spec. Mfg.” or if the design was licensed to different manufacturers.

  4. I received one of these, probably as a birthday present, or maybe graduation from grade school in around 1941. Had the rubber base you could slip off, but it was a piece of junk. Never fully closed the legs to bind the paper. I can remember when I finally replaced it with a Bostich B8, that really closed the legs tight, and would open up as a tacker. A much better product, which I still pick up in thrift stores if it is a $1 or less. I think I now have about 6 of them. I love the attached staple remover of the B8.
    Phil in Phoenix

    1. ooh, yeah – that reminds me, the Bostich B8 (with attached staple remover and box of staples) is upcoming on the next “Stapler of the Week”, when I get around to taking the pictures. (:

  5. The empty space between the stapler bottom and the rubber foot (missing on many of these old Presto staplers nowadays) held 900 staples, not the stapler!
    Sheesh!

  6. Yes, the rubber base is a storage area for extra staples. Also, this stapler had to have been manufactured either in 1939 or sometime in the ’40s, because they began the Presto line in 1939 and the name of the company changed to Loren Specialty Manufacturing Company Inc. in the ’40s after a merger.

    My info source: Semler Industries website in the about\our history section.

    I just got one free at an estate sale and it works great.

    1. Interesting! Yeah, it has that kind of “thing from the 40’s, not kept too delicately” feel to it. Handsome to look at for sure – kind of makes me want to be on the lookout for some cylindrical glass display case wherein I can put the large number of staplers I’ve bought purely for their looks, but are disappointing to use.

  7. The one I have is that sickly blueish-greenish WWII Navy government color, which is appropriate, since it came from the US Navy, and belonged to my Aunt, a Navy Lt. (NOT a WAVE), who was one of the Japanese-code breakers. She stayed in Europe until 1949, helping with Chinese and Japanese translations, so it could easily be from 1946 as 1941, though it looks like one of the cheap 1941 ones. It does work, but needs to be perpetually cleaned and oiled as it sticks before completion.

  8. Ah, this is the one I bought today in green. You are right, the staple-loading process is really awkward and it would only hold a few at a time. Pretty ridiculous and cheap, but I do like the styling.

    1. Also, the staples are non-standard, smaller than normal. They’re really much better to look at than use. (:

      1. I’m sure you’re right, but I’ve just spent $5 on eBay for a box of Presto staples. I like my objects to be usable even if they’re poorly designed!

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