Case Study No. 2004341-919

Evolutionarily speaking, the 1980’s represented the zenith of the paper binding industry, by heralding the introduction of on demand paper binding and organization with the Trapper Keeper. This masterpiece of cardboard and tight fitting plastic trappings made the Trapper Keeper the ultimate display of fashion and practical storage.

While the life and times of the golden age of paper binding has been well tread by popular culture, religion, and the motion picture industry, many are still not aware of the significant role that the Trapper Keeper played in social evolution. The hearts and minds of the world were quickly captivated by its debut. Clearly the best thing to happen to the paper since the glue binding, many theologians and religious scholars considered the Trapper Keeper as the second coming of The Parchment.

However, the popularity of the Trapper Keeper was not limited to fringe religious movements. The Trapper Keeper appeared on both the February and December covers of Industrial Office Trade Monthly in 1985. An unprecedented accomplishment that has yet to be equaled. Time magazine called 1986 “The Year of the Trapper Keeper”, and proclaimed “that it would become similar to the television or the microwave, infused into every household across America”.

Mysteriously, the Trapper Keeper vanished from the scene as quickly as it had entered. Conspiracy theorists are quick to point out a correlation between the Trapper’s decline, and a 1987 Address by Ronald Reagan before the UN, where he speculated that the world would unite when presented with an alien adversary. It was said that the Trapper Keepers were used as an interstellar bartering chip, and the world’s supply guaranteed the Earth’s safety for the next eighty-seven years. While no one can say for certain what happened, the Trapper Keeper is now all but extinct.

The Axis of Stevil founded the Trapper Keeper Preservation Society in late 1998, when a small bundle of Trapper Keepers was found in an abandoned truck stop near Dulce, New Mexico. This organization seeks to catalog the world’s remaining Trapper Keepers in photographs. Your support is welcome, if you or someone you know is in possession of a Trapper Keeper, please submit your name and a clear photo of the Trapper Keeper’s front. Thank you for your support.