A box of replacement styluses for the IBM Port-a-Punch. The stylus were used to manually punch holes in perforated cards by pressing the tip through a punching template. As the punch tip is used, it can become dull, bent or damaged, so replacement styluses were made available separately.
The styluses in this box are identical to the one included with the Port-a-Punch. They consist of a plastic handle with a metal punch tip which can be extended or retracted by twisting the orange plastic collar at the rear. When the collar is twisted one way, the punch tip extends out of the handle ready for use. Twisting the collar the other way retracts the punch tip back into the handle for safe storage. A metal ring is attached to the end of the handle with a metal clip which allows the stylus to be clipped to documents or clothing by the user. Each stylus has “IBM Port-a-Punch” printed on the side in orange lettering.
The box is made of thin cardboard with openings on both ends. The front and rear of the box feature the IBM logo and “Port-a-Punch Stylus” against a white background, with a repeating IBM logo against a black field on the left third. The sides of the box feature the same pattern of an IBM logo repeating against a black field. On one end of the box, the full IBM “International Business Machines” globe logo is printed along with “Part No.: 456871” and “Quantity: One dozen”. It also contains the text “International Business Machines Corporation” and “Made and printed in USA”.
Each of the four styluses inside the box are in excellent condition with no visible signs of wear or damage. Each can be operated smoothly with the punch tip extending and retracting without issue. Whilst some yellowing of the plastic has occurred due to age, there are no cracks or chips to the plastic components and the metal punch tips show no signs of rust or corrosion.
The box is well-worn with creasing and edge wear. Some of the black ink on the box has worn away to varying degrees, especially on the edges and corners. The box has been opened from from both ends with both flaps showing extensive wear. The original white colour of the cardboard has yellowed significantly and the box’s structure has begun to fail due to the softening of the cardboard with age.
