Victorian Brass Hand Paper Clip | Iron Back Plate | England, c. 1880

Victorian Brass Hand Paper Clip | Iron Back Plate | England, c. 1880

A hand that holds your letters for you: the Victorians made even the desk polite.

Among the more imaginative accessories of the Victorian writing desk were spring-loaded clips cast in the form of a hand. Made to hold letters, bills and other papers, they combined a practical mechanism with the period’s taste for decorative domestic metalwork. Some could lie on a desk or hang from a wall.

The cast brass right hand has long, gently curved fingers and a deeply fluted, frilled cuff. It is spring-loaded at the cuff and presses down onto a cross-hatched gripping edge on the iron back plate. The plate has a waisted stem with a round hole for hanging.

Very good condition. The spring mechanism works and grips firmly. The brass has been polished, and the iron back plate has surface rust and minor pitting, consistent with its age.

Key Details

• Form: desk or wall paper clip in the form of a lady’s hand
• Material: cast brass hand; iron back plate
• Mechanism: spring-loaded, gripping firmly
• Origin: England
• Date: c. 1880
• Marks: none
• Dimensions: length 11.1 cm; width 7.4 cm; height 3.5 cm
• Weight: 105 g
• Condition: very good; surface rust and minor pitting to the iron plate
• Buyer profile: collectors of Victorian desk accessories and brass, and anyone looking for a working piece of history for a desk or study wall

Collector Appeal

Hand-form clips are distinctive Victorian desk accessories, combining useful mechanics with decorative metalwork. This example keeps its working spring and has a finely modelled brass hand with a fluted cuff. The contrast between the polished brass and the aged iron plate gives it real material character, and it can sit on a writing desk or hang from its original mounting hole.

The letters it once held are long answered; the hand is still ready for the next.