The Eyelet Machine or Eyelet Press, as we know it today, dates to 1854 when a man named Hymen Lipman changed the way the early office did its business.

Predating the stapler, the eyelet machine was a common office appliance 25 years before the staple press was marketed.

This office appliance was a common fixture in law offices, courts and used by notaries.

Today, many eyelet machines are mistaken for appliances designed for use by cobblers, in the textile trade, but most patents indicate the primary purpose was for use in an office setting.