Show us your Vintage Office Supplies.

Edward Reed · Jun 15, 2020

I was never eager or excited to bother getting one of these for my vintage office collection but the more I looked at 1940s office photographs and seeing them on a desk I finally caved and got one. Not sure of the vintage but its a Dixon 888 in unused condition. hardened eraser of course but it displays well with my 1941 Underwood typewriter.

Edward Reed · Jun 22, 2020

another item I often see in vintage photos of 1930s and 1940s office desks is an indoor room thermometer. I decided on this tiny one. I love its size and that the wood base is wrapped in a very thin layer of leather . very manly yes?

there are no maker marks or a date but its appears to be very 1930s to me. basic and functional. not sure just how accurate it is but it seems to be in the ballpark.

Edward Reed · Jun 29, 2020

another version of the notepad holder I added to my collection is the looseleaf Autopoint notepad holder. I was particularly interested in obtaining this one as it still had some of the original note paper in it, aging and yellowing gracefully. I have seen a number of versions of this item in my vintage office photograph collection and found this particular model in the image posted below.
(As for the business logo on the notepad holder, F. E. Booth was a canning company started by Frank E. Booth in 1895. The company had fish, fruit, and vegetable canneries in California and was based in San Francisco by 1920. The company initially canned sardines in Monterey. In 1920, F. E. Booth was president and general manager. The company lasted into the 1930's as a tomato canner. Brands: Comet, Crescent.)

Edward Reed · Jun 29, 2020

added another unused 1930s The Spiral Composition Book to my collection.
this one blue and No. 88. Marginal Ruled. rather fragile this one....

Edward Reed · Jun 29, 2020

added a plastic address/phone list finder to the collection. no manufacturer on this one. its unused with nothing written inside which I like. it still has the original protective felt on the bottom. There is a business promo imprint at the top for Hirshfield's Fine Wallpaper - O'Brien Paints which I found is still operating multiple stores in Minnesota. a fourth generation, family-owned company Since 1894.

MikeBravo · Jul 1, 2020

Edward Reed said:
added a plastic address/phone list finder to the collection. no manufacturer on this one. its unused with nothing written inside which I like. it still has the original protective felt on the bottom. There is a business promo imprint at the top for Hirshfield's Fine Wallpaper - O'Brien Paints which I found is still operating multiple stores in Minnesota. a fourth generation, family-owned company Since 1894.

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In Australia we called it a Teledex, used for 'phone numbers. It never occured to me it could be used for other things.

Edward Reed · Jul 1, 2020

MikeBravo said:
In Australia we called it a Teledex, used for 'phone numbers. It never occured to me it could be used for other things.

here in the US Teledex is a trademark company still in business today that installs hotel telephones.

Rolodex made one called the Rolodex Autodex. many companies had names for their version due to trademarks . so List Finder I think was trademarked by Bates Co. Phone directory is the generic term. address book sometimes.

Turnip · Aug 11, 2020

Two calculators passed down from grandpa->pa->me, so purchased about late 30s.
One desktop and one pocket version, each with an addition and subtraction side.
Been produced between 1920s -1960s as far as i could find out.

Desktop

Pocket

Cheers

Turnip

Edward Reed · Aug 11, 2020

Turnip said:
Two calculators passed down from grandpa->pa->me, so purchased about late 30s.
One desktop and one pocket version, each with an addition and subtraction side.
Been produced between 1920s -1960s as far as i could find out.

Desktop

Pocket

Cheers

Turnip

WOW! now those are super cool! have to admit I Have never seen anything like these! thanks for showing us!

Edward Reed · Sep 21, 2020

I thought I was done with collecting WWII era pencils but these caught my attention. Two Salvation Army 1944 pencils with white plastic ferrule and "Our Fighting General Douglas MacArthur" patriotic pencil with black paper ferrule.

1930artdeco · Sep 24, 2020

Just found a full bottle of Quink from Parker. Thought I might try it out just to see how it writes.
Mike

Edward Reed · Nov 1, 2020

A curious item I have here for my WWII desktop. I have only ever seen one other listed and it was in highly used condition. This one is minty and matches the used one precisely. it would be easy to make repros of these but if someone went to the trouble to do so and match the print stamp with the exact fonts and size I would think these would come up on eBay or Etsy often but none have ever been listed before or after my purchase. I'm not entirely convinced its WWII vintage but it could be. Not sure what to think of it...
I purchased it from an antique dealer in the UK and it appears to be a Homefront stationary shop item. I could see a soldier on leave purchasing this on his trip into town for stationary supplies. The Venus Pencil Co Ltd. had offices in Ontario and a few US cities and even set up an office in London. my research has revealed nothing of the "War Eraser" even though Venus Pencil Co. did in fact make a variety of rubber erasers with a similar one in size to this one with a different label stamping. Looks the part on my vintage desktop anyway....

Edward Reed · Jan 8, 2021

Added a Bakelite desk calendar complete with an unused 1942 calendar. The top few sheets have lost some edges due to age brittleness but otherwise in great condition. Hard to imagine a wartime 1942 calendar surviving 79 years and it not having been tossed away. A great addition to my 1940s office!

Edward Reed · Feb 22, 2021

Speed Products Co Model 3C
(c. 1943)

Built with a wood base during WWII to save metal.

The “Speed” Stapler introduced an important innovation that made the loading of staples faster. Previously, to load a magazine stapler, one had to remove a plunger (or other mechanism to push staples forward) from the back of a stapler, insert a staple stick onto a rail at the back of the machine, and then replace the plunger. By contrast, one simply opened the Speed Stapler, placed a staple stick on the rail, and closed the stapler. When the Speed Stapler was opened, the mechanism that pushed staples forward as they were used moved back out of the way; when the stapler was closed, that mechanism moved forward against the staple stick. This innovation gave the company an important marketing edge over competitors.
“Speed Products Co.” (1939-56), “Swingline Inc.” (1956 onward)

In perfect working condition but will be for display only due to the aging paint, wood and Bakelite cap. Not particularly rare. A handful of these are always available on eBay

Edward Reed · Mar 10, 2021

I have an Underwood Model S typewriter manufactured in the last quarter of 1941....

Well I came across this Underwood typewriter ribbon still in the box and dated January 14, 1942!

Tens of thousands of people were employed in Washington during World War II in newly created defense jobs.
These office workers, mostly “government girls,” arrived to find a city sorely lacking in office supplies and equipment. Typewriters were a particular problem – the government needed 600,000 of them for use in DC and overseas.
Typewriter companies had been asked to retool their factories to support the larger war effort. Underwood and Smith-Corona produced rifles, and the Royal Typewriter Company produced airplane parts. Unfortunately, this coincided with the huge spike in demand for their products and led to a great wartime typewriter shortage. Civilians and private companies had to fill out an applications and apply to even purchase a typewriter during the war otherwise you weren’t able to purchase one.
The Army & other services ran on paper - in quintuplicate so Typewriter ribbon would have been widely bought up and utilized in the states as well as shipped overseas to the military so I find it quite extraordinary to find one dated January 1942 still in the box! Hell it might be the only one! LOL! I only paid $12 for it. Looks great displayed with my Underwood Typewriter

Edward Reed · Mar 11, 2021

I’ve been keeping an eye out for a “Waralarm” branded Westclox shelf alarm clock for a little while. They come up from time to time but as always overpriced or not running. I finally got a fairly decent working one for a nice price. These were only produced for one year. From April 1943 through April 1944.

During WWII the government required that many manufacturing facilities stop production of their normal goods, to produce much needed items for the war effort. This included Westclox, and other manufacturers. Westclox made fuses, telegraph keys and other items. Starting in 1943, the government allowed production of a limited number of alarm clocks, using less critical material. The company was only allowed to use 7 pounds of brass per 1000 clocks instead of normal 300 pounds. The case was made of pressed wood fiber. (Cardboard!) and painted with black shellac to give some limited moisture resistance. The dial face is paper and the movement plates were made of thinner aluminum. The alarm hammer strikes a plate instead of a bell and sounds more like a long fart! The bezel cover is real glass. These sold nationwide at retail stores for $1.65 ($25.43 in today’s economy) and were a big hit selling out frequently. There are newspaper stories about customers lining up hours before a store would open to purchase one! (Or was that a marketing ploy to ensure these inferior products sold?

)

So far mine has been running since noon and has kept accurate time for the past five hours but now showing signs of running slow and losing a minute or two. I’m sure it could use a cleaning and an oiling) It’s a one day clock so it’ll have to be wound every morning. It has a pleasing and quiet TickTock...

Edward Reed · May 27, 2021

I'm not sure this qualifies as an office supply but it is certainly something you see in offices (and homes) in 1930's and 40's films and photos. I have been wanting to get a basic mission style hall tree for some time and finally got one at a very reasonable price. most that show up on Ebay are ridiculously over priced and/or they won't ship it. they list is as free local pickup only which does me no good when its 2000 miles away!

Finally landed one cheap and he shipped it to me fast. Very happy to finally have a place to literally hang my hat!

(In a vintage office furniture catalog I have it was known as a "costumer" )

VINTAGE-1920s-30s-SOUTHERN-DESK-CO-CATALOG-OFFICE-CHAIRS-TABLES-BOOKCASE-_57-11.jpg

Edward Reed · Jun 5, 2021

Added this army green Tatum 70 Two hole punch to my collection. Works perfectly. Not much info can be found on this one but items marked Tatum usually date to the very early 1900s. The company changed hands a number of times and the Tatum punches landed into the more common Wilson Jones brand.
This one is described as being originally manufactured by Samuel C. Tatum from around 1912 to 1922. Tatum then sold all Hole Punch products to a company called Delmar. Delmar sold out to Wilson-Jones in the late 1920's.
The base is wood and measures 4" x 6" with a carved out area for the paper chads to be dumped out of. Unfortunately the shaped metal rod paper margin guide is missing but the lock down screw for it still remains. I have other office supply items where minimal metal was used because of metal rations during WWII so its possible this one could have been produced during that time. This version is particularly scarce.

Emma Jasmine · Jun 10, 2021

Hi! Interesting post. I would like to have a real tree in my house, at least one on the balcony or on the roof. The wood polish and color on your furniture are looking good. That huge punching machine I never ever saw in my life. A friend of mine supplies office furniture manufactured by Fast Office Furniture in Australia and their wood furniture is also elegant and trendy. I liked the images you shared here. Keep posting.

Edward Reed · Jun 21, 2021

A common item on desktops during the 30's and 40s was the desk thermometer and Barometer. Its always good to know the temp and humidity range inside your office! I recently acquired this particularly nice "Air Condition Indicator". Many have corrosion on the backside or the chrome is flaking or the bakelite frame is cracked. This version could date back as far as the mid 1930s as per the patent papers.
Middlebury Electric Clock Co. Chicago, Ill. Measures 5” tall with the feet by 4.5” wide.
I also happened to have a photograph of a 1940s office with this specific barometer on his desk!

this last photo shows the reverse side of a very similar version but with the alternate easel bar.

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