This is a picture of a pin I found, a crude repair of a single leaf from a book about plants printed in 1578.
Certainly an interesting approach (possibly common in the era?) to paper restoration, but the pin looked different, and seems to be hand made. Its about 1" in length. Any educated guesses on the age would be most appreciated.
Sorry I don’t have any kind of answer. I just wanted to say that’s a pretty cool pin. What are you doing with a 16th century book about plants? Is it a library/museum job or do you just really like plants?
Like many people, I collect rare books from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, preferably in English. 16th Century books are going to be the next iPod! This is just one of the stranger repairs Ive come across.
As a re-enactor of the last quarter of the 18th century, I know that reproductions of that sort of wire pin with the twisted head are said to accurate to the period of the American Revolution. That style probably dates back nearly as far as drawn wire, but I don’t know enough about metal working to tell you about that.
Nor do I know when they stopped commonly using that style, which would be important to know, too.
So… how much does a 450 yr old tome on plants run you these days? Do you find there are good deals on ebay or do you prefer bookstores with little octagenarian shopkeepers?
Also, where do you plug the little white headphones in?
Yes, it was common, being the standard way to attach pieces of paper together before the invention of the paper clip.
The other major technological breakthrough that is relevant is the invention in the early nineteenth century of pins in which the head was made from the end of the pin rather than being added. Your pin almost certainly predates that.
I’m going postal just reading this thread. 
I work in a museum which has a large collection of historic manuscripts. I’ll ask them today if they’re familiar with the practice and describe the pin, and see if they’ve got something similar.
I had the EXACT same thought! Too much Pratchett on the brain…
Great minds, jayjay. Someone needs to introduce these people to stamps. 
Oh, Stanley!
I tend to run more towards 16th snf 17th century Dutch Theology myself.
I have not run across such a thing personally but I know they are about.