We are not sure where this handy tool got it’s beginnings. We have drawings of such tools around the 1500’s by the Pope’s Chef, Bartolo,eo Scappi in the Illustrated Culinary book on the left, which shows tools that look like stationary cutting tools.

We know that knives have been used for millions of years, but simple machines, like the wheel and levers and pulleys were used in Ancient Greece 250 B.C. I am sure that is when cooking tools probably started evolving as well.

Some internet sites talk about the Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin invented the Mandolin, I guess after it was successful with the tool that bears his name,for a different purpose, but there is no evidence of this and similar tools were used centuries before. It is interesting to note that the first guillotine was built by a German harpsicord maker which is close to a mandolin.
A strange fun fact is that Mr. Guillotin was against capital punishment, and thought this was a more humane method.

At some point in time someone go the idea to put other blades perpendicular on the machine as well as parallel and you could cut uniform strips. My guess is that this would be for large parties that were put on by aristocrats and the royal court where the appearance of the food was very important to impress your guests. Then they added a stand so that you could free up both hands.

As manufacturing got better, interchangeable blades for different sizes were added and sold. At first they were expensive, espcially when they were made of stainless steel. Then you started to see them in plastic which were inexpensive and they were simplified. This is when they became popular in home kitchens.

Jean Bron of "Bron Coucke" company made the first Stainless model steel model post WW2 and is still available. I had one and loved it. Many internet sites attribute the design and name to a man called Marcel Forelle from Toulouse France. I can not find much detail on him however.