I work in a lot of different offices. I can usually find a well-stocked stationery cupboard in each, with paper pads, post-it notes and so on.

Usually, there are boxes and boxes of Bics or similar ballpoints.

I'm interested in what office stationery cupboards used to contain, pre-60s. Anyone have personal memories?

Ray

Taking a guess, but I suspect lots of No. 2 pencils & lots of paper paper because computers weren't around back then. I would guess no post-its. I wonder what kind of pen they stocked.

Well, lets see, pre-1960.

No computers, no printer paper, disks, etc.
No copiers - some machines, used heat and special paper to make copies. The copies deteriorated over time.
No fax machines, telex machine instead.
No post-its or other items based on adhesive that doesn’t stick too well.
The IBM Executive typewriter had been in use since the 40's, but the Selectric was not introduced until 1961.
No markers, no white boards.
No calculators.

There was Carbon paper
There were Adding machines
There were Typewriter and adding machine ribbons
Ball point pens had re-emerged after they went out of favor in the early 50's thanks to the Parker Jotter. Bic entered the US market in the late 50's with the purchase of Waterman Pens.
Mimeograph machines were used for documents circulated in multiple copies.
There were Typewriter supplies, erasers, Liquid Paper was available.
There were short hand pads an dictaphone machines and supplies.

In short it was a different world and supply cupboard.

Jim

When I worked for the American Bureau of Shipping as a typist blabidy bla years ago (was it really THAT long ago?) many files contained photocopies of papers fastened with straight pins. When was the paper clip invented? Maybe the company was just cheap.

The paper clip was invented around 1900. However, if the documents were from the war years the pins may have been to save metal.

Most likely the company was cheap.

Jim