This eBay find arrived today. It is a Filofax-type ring organiser with the most beautiful cover and an ingenious system.
There are two sections. When you are finished with pages, the ring system lifts up and you fold the used pages underneath.
The only thing I cannot figure out is how you take the paper off the rings to replace the filler with the next year’s one because the rings are loose and do not clip or pull open. I thought maybe you removed the entire mechanism and put a new one in each year but I cannot figure how you would do that either!
What a magnificent object and lucky find. There is a patent for this binder here https://patents.google.com/patent/US1711894A/en?oq=1711894
I have only glanced over it, but it looks like there are no details about some of the numbered components. Perhaps the pdf download has more. In any case, there is something to be gleaned from it.
Wow! Thank you so much for this! I have always wanted to find out more about how this binder works!
OMG!!! where did you find this??? i had seen an article about these before (sorry, don’t remember where i saw it :'( ) and want one so badly!
It was on eBay. It didn’t sell the first time so it was relisted (or maybe it was another one that went for sale) so the second time I thought I had to pounce!
Does it have a 1931 date on the organizer hardware? I’ve seen a couple of those at auction houses with 1930 date. The screws on the back, what do they connect to? I’m assuming you’d have to take the back plate off to get the rings out. Maybe the new refills came with the rings and you put it all back in?
No there is no date on the hardware that I can see. I was going by the calendar, though that could be a newer one than the binder. The rings to hold the paper are in holes in the metal plate which is fastened to the side Deco style rings. I would imagine you would have to unscrew and replace the entire mechanism.Though you would hardly want to replace the Deco rings each year. Maybe there is some trick I just am not getting. Not hard to imagine as I don’t have that kind of mind!
Just send in your order form for the refill. I’m sure you’ll figure it out then! But seriously, that is a wonderful find. I love the day on one page sheets. They are so “of the era.” I may try to re-create those….
So is it like a metal frame with leather within the frame to form the covers?
Yes. The cover is metal. The arrow thingie you can see keeps the pages flat when it is horizontally positioned.
When that is moved to a vertical position, the covers snap closed.