Designer:  Robert Heller (1899 – 1973)

Item: Zephyr Stapler Model 101A

Manufactured by: E. H. Hotchkiss Company

Country of origin: United States

Year made: Ca. 1939 - 1941

Materials: Nickel-plated steel, textured enamel and rubber

Dimensions: 3 ¼” x 8” x 2”

Condition: Very good for its age and use.  Scratches and some small rust spots, but for its age and everyday use it’s in very nice shape.  The rubber base is getting brittle with age and you can see in the photo where it cracked towards the rear, but that is stable.  Retains staples and is in working order.

Description:  Here is another scarce surviving machine age masterpiece of design for a stapler.  Heller submitted his patent applications for the design of the stapler in August and October of 1938 and they were approved in April 1939.  This stapler came in a couple of different finishes.  However, according to US Patent records the three patent numbers that are found on the bottom of stapler are actually for the mechanism that was designed and patented by Fridolin Polzer (1878 – 1962).  Zephyr staplers are hard to find, and thus they command premium prices (for a stapler).