Apocket protector is a sheath designed to hold writing instruments and other small implements in a shirt's breast pocket, protecting it from tearing or staining. It may be used to carrypens,pencils,screwdrivers, small slide rules, and other small items. A flap over the outside of the pocket helps to secure the pocket protector. Pocket protectors were originally made ofpolyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The pocket protector was invented duringWorld War II by Hurley Smith while he was working inBuffalo, New York. He filed to patent the device on June 3, 1943, and he received patent numberUS 2417786A on March 18, 1947.[1]
A competing claim for the invention came from Long Island plastics magnate Gerson Strassberg around 1952. Strassberg was working on plastic sleeves forbankbooks. One day, he placed one that he was working on into his shirt pocket while he took a phone call. When he noticed it there, he realized it would make a great product.[2]
Pocket protectors imprinted with logos or company names were first marketed to companies aspromotional merchandise. A more general market soon arose, made up of students, engineers, andwhite-collar workers in a variety of fields. They have become part of a "nerd" or "geek" fashion stereotype, probably because of their association with engineers or students.
Media related toPocket protectors at Wikimedia Commons
