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When you look at the Acme Fastener Company, it is necessary to start with the man that designed and owned many patents for fasteners that were marketed by the company, William J. Brown, Jr.
His contributions have gone practically unnoticed, probably because he was in silent competition with more famous inventors of the day who commanded the spot light.
None the less, his inventions were in tune with the periods improvement of standards and practices within the office.
Brown was reportedly a resident of Philadelphia, PA. His place of business was at 707 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. His early patents indicate an application date of October 13, 1875
Brown's fasteners included the Single Staple Press, The Acme, of which, there were several models, and the Sure Shot just to name a few.
Many collectors mistakenly called his machines the “Yarger” after S.L. Yarger who was the sole distributor for Brown’s earlier fasteners. Yarger later went on the have an active role in the Acme Fastener Company.
Brown never referred to his fastener as such, he called it, “the machine.”
Brown's association with the Acme Staple Company or to Mr. E.H. Michener and Mr. W.A. Ashley who both patented improvements to Acme fasteners,is unclear, but one thing is for sure, the Acme Fastener was one of the best office machines ever invented.To date, the Acme Staple Company, which was organized in 1894 still produces a fastener based on the original patents. Its largest competitor fell by the way side over 50 years ago.
The company was originally located in Camden, New Jersey. Two address are known of, 112 N. Ninth Street and 1643-1647 Haddon Avenue and in the late 50's relocated to Franklin, New Hampshire.
The fasteners shown below are the early examples of Brown's work and can easily be recognized as some of the poineers in the mechanical practice of fastening documents.