History

Mortimer Spiller was born in 1922 to Russian immigrants who settled in LeRoy, New York. Spiller’s college training in business and advertising was interrupted by service in World War II. After the war, he was eager to complete his education and put his degree into practice. In 1947, while conducting sidewalk surveys in the windy skyscraper canyons of New York City, he noticed the practical need for weights to hold down newspapers in the city’s newsstands. 

Spiller saw a unique opportunity. In the confined space of a newsstand, every square inch counted as potential placement for products or advertising. While a simple rock could hold the papers down, a custom-made weight could enhance the marketing of any newspaper or magazine. Spiller was soon making and selling weights to major publishers for use at newsstands around the country. His first order was for 10,000 weights for Newsweek. The company went on to produce over 100,000 different weights into the 1980s from a foundry in Batavia, New York, for such companies as Newsweek, Look, and the New York Times.

In 2011, the Spiller family donated its collection of newspaper weights to the New York State Museum. The collection includes samples of Spiller products as well as products made by other manufacturers.