The binder clip was invented in 1910 by Washington, D.C., resident Louis E. Baltzley, who ultimately was granted U.S. Patent Number 1,139,627 for his invention in 1915. At that time, the method of binding sheets of paper together was to punch holes in them and sew them together, making it tedious to remove a single sheet of paper. Part of the original binder clip patent drawing was used as the official cover page of the Binder Clips Fans
Baltzley invented the binder clip to help his father, Edwin Baltzley, a writer and inventor, hold his manuscripts together easily. While the original design has since been changed five times, the basic mechanism has remained the same.
Baltzley initially produced his invention through the L.E.B. Manufacturing Company. These earliest binder clips are stamped 'L.E.B.' on one side of the sheet steel. Manufacturing rights were later licensed to other companies.