When was the zip invented?

Answer 1

1893

TRAVELLING salesman and part-time inventor Whitcomb L. Judson lodged his patent for "shoe fasteners" in 1893. Truly a revolutionary form of fastening, and it was recognised as such by the Patent Office examiner. But despite that, patent number 504,038 was hardly contested ground. Had it not been for the magnificent sales pitch of Judson's fellow commercial traveller Harry Earle (of the Osborne Machine Co., New York), Judson's early zippers would have vanished into obscurity. But it was the involvement of Lewis Walker, a lawyer and businessman from Meadville, Pennsylvania, that galvanised the development of the zipper. By 1905 he had renamed his company "The Automatic Hook and Eye Company," and introduced the "C-Curity Fastner" to a feminine market Judson had not considered. In 1906, a Swede named Peter Aronson took over the operation, and the "C-Curity" became "The Plako" (as in placket). Aronson attempted to market the Plako in France (as "le Ferme Tout"), and another Swede, Gideon Sundback joined the little company. Sundback is the true hero of the zip; the engineer who developed the fastener into what we know as the modern zip. By 1914 he had developed what the company insisted on calling "The Hookless Hooker," and under the name "Hookless #2" this design attained remarkable commercial success. It was used predominantly for money belts, gloves, and tobacco pouches. The Hookless fastener only became known as "The Zipper" in 1922, 29 years after its invention by Judson. Robert Friedel's book "Zipper: an Exploration in Novelty" (1995?) gives a far more detailed account of the zip's history and cultural significance.

Daniel Cox, undergraduate English Literature Student, University of Reading, Berks. (lnucoxdj@reading.ac.uk)

• THE zip didn't take off until 1918 when the US navy realised that it would make an excellent fastener for flying suits. The name zipper was coined in 1926, and has since been shortened to zip in the UK.

  Nicola Baxter, Redland, Bristol.

• The invention of the zipper? I'd love to have been a fly on the wall......

  Jonathan Pearlman, Melbourne Australia

• The story my grandfather (fathers side) tells is that one of my ancestors invented the zip for his wife to help do up her dress. His partner apparently stole his idea and patened it. Anyone who doesn't believe me should know that my grandfather only lies when he is being polite e.g. 'you look nice in this dress.'