Early in 1941, Patrick J. Frawley acquired his first company, a ballpoint pen parts manufacturer that had defaulted on its loan. In 1949, The Frawley Pen Company developed an ink that dried instantly. The pen that delivered this ink was called "The Paper Mate".
In 1955, the Frawley Pen Company was acquired by The Gillette Company, Inc. for $15.5 million, and formed the basis for the Paper Mate Division of Gillette. Twenty-five years later, in 1980, Gillette acquired Liquid Paper and Waterman; with these acquisitions, the Paper Mate Division was changed to the Stationery Products Group. In 1984, a Paper Mate Sharpwriter was featured in the music video for "Turn Up the Radio" by Autograph.