Rubber stamp
Sello de goma
- Date
- 1864-1866 · confidence low
- Place
- New York, United States (traditional attribution)
- Credited to
- James Orton Woodruff (traditional attribution); L. F. Witherell (claimant)
- People
- 👤 James Orton Woodruff1840–1879
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A vulcanised rubber stamp moulded from a matrix of type, used to imprint dates, signatures and repetitive text. A humble but ubiquitous tool of bureaucracy and commerce.
The origin is uncertain: James Orton Woodruff (a native of Auburn, New York) is said to have made them in New York after the American Civil War using his dentist uncle's vulcaniser; L. F. Witherell (Knoxville, Illinois) claimed 1866 without evidence.
What it led to
- Office bureaucracy and stamped paperwork
- Mail marking, date stamps and postmarks
- The office-supplies industry
Built on
- Vulcanization of rubber1839 (patente 1844)
- Movable type printing
- Metal and wax seals
Made possible
- Date stamp
- Mechanical postmark stamp
- Children's toy printing press