Early 19th-century government clerks relied on ribbon, pins, thread, sealing wax, and wafers to hold their papers together, but over the course of the century, these materials were joined by a host of other fasteners, including staples, grommets, and red tape.
While red tape is used in the metaphorical sense these days, it used to refer to literal red tape: a narrow ribbon made from cotton or linen, dyed red. This was used by government clerks for all sorts of purposes, from tying bundles of related papers together, to sealing official documents, to tying shut envelopes.
This ribbon is .25" x 5 yds and comes bundled in Monahan Papers. Last picture courtesy of the National Archives.
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