Search Results

Associated Name:

American Institute of the City of New York  Search this

Object Name:

Medal

souvenir

Place made:

United States: New York, New York City

Associated Place:

United States: New York

Date made:

1833

Subject:

Expositions and Fairs  Search this

Numismatics  Search this

Related event:

American Institute Exhibition  Search this

Credit Line:

The Larry Zim World's Fair Collection

ID Number:

1989.0438.0002

Catalog number:

1989.0438.0002

Accession number:

1989.0438

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-a745-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1122781

Physical Description:

gold (overall material)

brass (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 55 mm; 2 5/32 in

Object Name:

Willard Gibbs Medal

medal

Date made:

1913

Subject:

Bakelite  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. William Karraker

ID Number:

1982.0034.33e

Catalog number:

1982.0034.33e

Accession number:

1982.0034

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Chemistry

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-4893-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1764069

Maker:

Sanborn Company  Search this

Measurements:

overall: 47 cm x 27.8 cm x 37.2 cm; 18 1/2 in x 10 15/16 in x 14 21/32 in

Object Name:

Metabulator

Other Terms:

Metabulator; Diagnostic Medicine

Used:

United States: New York, Larchmont

Credit Line:

Norma S. Turck and daughters Lenore and Dana

ID Number:

1981.0205

Catalog number:

1981.0205.01

Accession number:

1981.0205

Serial number:

4855

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-8ae6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_733918

Associated Name:

Ghadiali, Dinshah P.  Search this

Physical Description:

metal (overall material)

glass (overall material)

plastic (overall material)

blue (overall color)

Measurements:

average spatial: 115 cm x 37 cm x 43 cm; 45 1/4 in x 14 9/16 in x 16 15/16 in

Object Name:

Spectro-Chrome

Credit Line:

Richard J. Morris

ID Number:

1980.0529.01

Catalog number:

1980.0529.01

Accession number:

1980.0529

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Pharmacy

Health & Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-30a5-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1173532

Maker:

Central Scientific Company  Search this

Object Name:

timer, interval

counter, electrical impulse

Place made:

United States: Illinois, Chicago

Patent date:

1939-10-24

Credit Line:

Donation of George E. Burch, Jr., M.D., Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana

ID Number:

1980.0186.223

Patent number:

US2177367A

Serial number:

3381

Accession number:

1980.0186

Catalog number:

1980.0186.223

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca783c4-8999-7e84-e053-15f76fa05eb7

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1870818

Creator:

Friedman, Joseph Bernard, Dr., 1900-1982  Search this

Friedman, Betty  Search this

Flexible Straw Corporation.  Search this

Flex-Straw Co.  Search this

Former owner:

Friedman, Robert A.  Search this

Leeds, Pamela B.  Search this

Reiss, Linda A.  Search this

Rosen, Judith B.  Search this

Names:

Klein, Bert  Search this

Extent:

8 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 2 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Ledgers (account books)

Correspondence

Blueprints

Black-and-white photographic prints

Videotapes

Personal papers

Date:

1915-2000

Summary:

Papers relating to the development of the flexible drinking straw, Friedman's manufacturing company, and Friedman's other inventions, such as an ice cream scoop, fountain pens, and household appliances.

Scope and Contents:

Papers relating to the development of the flexible drinking straw, Friedman's manufacturing company, and Friedman's other inventions, such as an ice cream scoop, fountain pens, and household appliances. Includes company ledgers, preliminary sketches, blueprints, correspondence, a video cassette, and photographs.

The Joseph B. Friedman Papers encompass the years 1915-2000, with the bulk of the material ranging between 1925 and 1965. This collection is a near complete source for the understanding inventive process of an American entrepreneur. In the case of the flexible straw, the evolution of the invention can be traced from early concept drawings through its manufacture and production, to the development of advertising and marketing materials. Records of necessary design modifications in the flexible straw and legal issues concerning Friedman's invention through its various stages are present here. In addition to providing a detailed linear account of the flexible straw, these papers reflect the varied interests and additional accomplishments of Friedman's invention career. The collection is arranged in three series to reflect the subjects of the material, namely personal papers, invention materials, and corporate records. Materials within each series are arranged by topic and type, and then chronologically.

Series 1: Personal Records (c.1920s-1940) contains family photographs, personal correspondence, education and employment records. Friedman's education records are in Subseries A, while the records of his careers in optometry, insurance and real estate are contained in Subseries B. Subseries C contains personal financial records, including bank statements and income tax returns. Correspondence, photographs, family history items and death certificate are located in Subseries D.

Series 2: Invention & Patent Materials (1915-1967) consists of invention records that include original concept drawings, legal records and patents, marketing correspondence, and the business records of Friedman's sole proprietorship invention business, the Commercial Research Company. It is important for researchers to note that information on the assignment of straw patents and their machinery, all associated legal records to those specific issues, as well as patent defense case research, and straw advertising and marketing after 1938 may be found in Series 3. Series 2 is divided into several subseries. Subseries A - I are patented inventions arranged chronologically by patent issue date, and include research and development, legal records and correspondence, and advertising and marketing materials. Subseries J - M contain unpatented inventions and business records, as well as multiple concept drawings and invention lists that refer to both patented and unpatented inventions. Researchers interested in the conceptual development of the straw should review the information contained not only in Subseries E: Drinking Tube and Subseries H: Flexible Straw, but also in Subseries L: Invention Lists & Drawings for straw ideas that were drawn on lists or sketches with other concepts. Additionally, researchers interested in the manufacturing device for the straw should review Subseries I: Apparatus & Method for Forming Corrugations in Tubing, as well as Subseries K: Unpatented Inventions, for the Flexible Straw & Method of Forming Same information.

Series 3: Flex-Straw Corporate Records (1938 - 1967) includes correspondence relating to the company and its formation, financial statements, tax returns, legal documents, patent assignments, royalty information, patent defense case research and records, and documents pertaining to the advertising and marketing of the flexible straw. Researchers should note that all conceptual and developmental details relating to the straw and its manufacture, as well as the original patents and their specifically associated legal correspondence can be found in Series 2. Series 3 is divided into several topically arranged subseries. Subseries A consists of the organizational materials for the company, including the minutes, by-laws and limited employee records. This subseries also contains two day books belonging to Joseph B. Friedman recording his appointments and personal notes from 1947 and 1950. Subseries B includes company related correspondence, organized by the correspondent. It begins with general correspondence, from 1939 - 1963, and continues with the letters of Bert Klein (1945 - 1950), David Light & Harry Zavin (1938 - 1962), and Betty Friedman (1940 - 1954). Much of the operational information on the company may be found in the letters Betty Friedman wrote and received from her brother. Subseries C holds the financial records of the company, including financial statements, ledgers, bank statements, check books, tax returns and royalty statements. Subseries D consists of legal records and correspondence, including such topics as changes in entity type, patent assignments, fair trade agreements and patent defense. Subseries E contains the advertising and marketing records of the company. This includes published material relating to the Flex-Straw specifically, as well as some advertising for flexible straws in general. Pencil concept drawings of Flex-Straw packaging and advertising art are drawn on the reverse of Pette calendar pages, and international advertising materials for the product are also present. Product testimonials, distributor bulletins, and corporate letterhead that traces the progression of company locations can also be found here.

Arrangement:

The collection is ivided into three series.

Series 1: Personal Records, circa 1920s-1940

Series 2: Invention and Patent Materials, 1915-1967

Series 3: Flex-Straw Corporate Records, 1938-1969

Biographical / Historical:

Joseph B. Friedman (1900 - 1982) was an independent American inventor with a broad range of interests and ideas. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 9, 1900, Joseph was a first generation American and the fifth of eight children for Jacob Friedman and Antoinette Grauer Friedman. By the age of fourteen, he had conceptualized his first invention, the "pencilite" lighted pencil, and was attempting to market his idea. Over the course of his inventing career, he would experiment with ideas ranging from writing implements to engine improvements, and household products to sound and optic experiments. He was issued nine U.S. patents and held patents in Great Britain, Australia and Canada. His first patent was issued for improvements to the fountain pen on April 18, 1922, (U.S. patent #1,412,930). This was also the first invention that he successfully sold, to Sheaffer Pen Company in the mid 1930s. In the 1920s, Friedman began his education in real estate and optometry. He would use both of these careers at different points in his life to supplement his income while improving his invention concepts. Although he was working as a realtor in San Francisco, California, the 1930s proved to be his most prolific patenting period, with six of his nine U.S. patents being issued then. One of these patents would prove to be his most successful invention - the flexible drinking straw.

While sitting in his younger brother Albert's fountain parlor, the Varsity Sweet Shop in San Francisco, Friedman observed his young daughter Judith at the counter, struggling to drink out of a straight straw. He took a paper straight straw, inserted a screw and using dental floss, he wrapped the paper into the screw threads, creating corrugations. After removing the screw, the altered paper straw would bend conveniently over the edge of the glass, allowing small children to better reach their beverages. U.S. patent #2,094,268 was issued for this new invention under the title Drinking Tube, on September 28, 1937. Friedman would later file and be issued two additional U.S. patents and three foreign patents in the 1950s relating to its formation and construction. Friedman attempted to sell his straw patent to several existing straw manufacturers beginning in 1937 without success, so after completing his straw machine, he began to produce the straw himself.

The Flexible Straw Corporation was incorporated on April 24, 1939 in California. However, World War II interrupted Friedman's efforts to construct his straw manufacturing machine. During the war, he managed the optometry practice of Arthur Euler, O.D., in Capwells' Department Store in Oakland, California, and continued to sell real estate and insurance to support his growing family. Joseph obtained financial backing for his flexible straw machine from two of his brothers-in-law, Harry Zavin and David Light, as well as from Bert Klein, a family associate. With their financial assistance, and the business advice of his sister Betty, Friedman completed the first flexible straw manufacturing machine in the late 1940s. Although his original concept had come from the observation of his daughter, the flexible straw was initially marketed to hospitals, with the first sale made in 1947.

Betty Friedman played a crucial role in the development of the Flexible Straw Corporation. While still living in Cleveland and working at the Tarbonis Company, she corresponded regularly with her brother and directed all of the sales and distribution of the straw. In 1950 Friedman moved his family and company to Santa Monica, California. Now doing business as the Flex-Straw Co., sales continued to increase and the marketing direction expanded to focus more strongly on the home and child markets. Betty moved west in 1954 to assume her formal leadership role in the corporation. Additional partners and investors were added over time, including Art Shapiro, who was initially solicited as a potential buyer of the patent. On June 20, 1969, the Flexible Straw Corporation sold its United States and foreign patents, United States and Canadian trademarks, and licensing agreements to the Maryland Cup Corporation. The Flexible Straw Corporation dissolved on August 19, 1969.

Dr. Joseph Bernard Friedman died on June 21, 1982. He was survived by his wife of over 50 years, Marjorie Lewis Friedman, his four children Judith, Linda, Pamela and Robert, and seven grandchildren

Separated Materials:

"Straw samples and an original dispensing device (ice cream disher) are located in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).

A mandrel prototype from the original flexible straw manufacturing machine is held by the Division of Work and Industry."

Provenance:

Daughters Judith B. Rosen, Linda A. Reiss and Pamela B. Leeds, and son Robert A. Friedman donated this collection and its related artifacts to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History on May 1, 2001.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Inventors  Search this

Inventions -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this

Ice cream scoops  Search this

Ice cream industry  Search this

Household appliances  Search this

Fountain pens  Search this

Drinking straws  Search this

Paper products  Search this

Patents  Search this

Genre/Form:

Ledgers (account books)

Correspondence -- 20th century

Blueprints

Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000

Videotapes

Personal papers -- 20th century

Citation:

Joseph B. Friedman Papers, 1915-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0769

See more items in:

Joseph B. Friedman Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88bd71d1a-1ab1-408c-b95b-8c81544027a7

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0769

Artist:

Friedman, Joseph Bernard, Dr., 1900-1982  Search this

Collection Creator:

Friedman, Joseph Bernard, Dr., 1900-1982  Search this

Friedman, Betty  Search this

Flexible Straw Corporation.  Search this

Flex-Straw Co.  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (Pencil on paper., 14 cm x 17 cm.)

Container:

Box 3, Folder 13

Type:

Archival materials

Drawings

Sketches, conceptual

Date:

[1930s.]

Scope and Contents:

Friedman's conceptual sketch for his flexible straw invention. Text on verso in pencil.

Local Numbers:

AC0769-0000006a.tif (AC Scan: drawing)

AC0769-0000006b.tif (AC Scan: verso)

01076904.tif (original AC Scan No.)

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Inventions -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Drinking straws  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings -- 1930-1940

Sketches, conceptual

Collection Citation:

Joseph B. Friedman Papers, 1915-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Joseph B. Friedman Papers

Joseph B. Friedman Papers / Series 2: Invention and Patent Materials / 2.5: Drinking Tube / Drinking Tube, Research & Development, 1937, undated

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a7a73cdb-35d7-4bb4-9d2c-c8dc4ec7db97

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0769-ref814

Creator:

Darby, S. Newman, 1928-2016 (inventor)  Search this

Darby, Kenneth  Search this

Darby, Naomi  Search this

Names:

Mistral, Inc.  Search this

Windsurfing International, Inc.  Search this

Drake, Jim  Search this

Schweitzer, Hoyle  Search this

Extent:

2.65 Cubic feet (7 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Sketches

Photographs

Rigging plans

Sail plans

Legal files

Blueprints

Film (performing arts)

Illustrated periodicals

Correspondence

Design drawings

Drawings

Videotapes

Place:

Falls (Pa.) -- 1950-1990

Susquehana River -- 1950-1990

Date:

1944-1998

Summary:

The collection documents S. Newman Darby's development of the sailboard, which became known as the windsurfer through sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, and an 8mm film.

Scope and Contents:

The S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection, 1946-1998, documents the body of Newman Darby's inventive output as well as the development of the windsurfing industry. It consists of sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, an 8mm film and a videocassette. The collection is particularly rich in the material related to the development of the sailboard, including Darby's personal memoirs. It contains U.S. and foreign patents related to windsurfing as well as records and reports related to Darby's testimony in litigation and the recognition of the priority of his invention. the collections research value lies in the documentation of the invention of the windsurfer and the industry and culture it spawned. It documents the processes of invention and marketing of new devices. It is evidence of the full range of S. Newman Darby's imagination, life and career.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Biographical materials, 1969-1982

Series 2: Inventions and designs, 1953-1990

Series 3: Darby Industries, 1982-1983

Series 4: History of windsurfing, 1944-1998

Series 5: Photographs, 1946-1997

Series 6: Audio-Visual materials, 1965-1997

Biographical / Historical:

S. Newman Darby is recognized as the first person in the United States to conceive of connecting a hand-held sail rig fastened with a universal joint to a floating platform for recreational use. He called it sail boarding in 1965, when he published his designs in Popular Science Monthly magazine. Although he and his brothers Ronald and Kenneth began manufacturing the boards through their company Darby Industries, they never applied for a patent.

S. Newman Darby (1928-2016) was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. He graduated from West Pittston High School in 1946. A sign painter and artist, like his father Sidney Darby, he studied drafting at the Pennsylvania State University extension school where he took chemistry, business, art, and photography courses for one year. His first invention, the Darby Dory, a folding rowboat dates from 1953. The sailboard developed out of Darby's experiments with a personal pontoon catamaran, each hull being big enough for one foot and designed to be operated with a hand-held sail and no rudder. By 1964 he had designed a universal joint that connected a mast to a flat bottom sailing scow. This board had a centerboard, tail fin and kite shaped free sail. Early tests were conducted on Trailwood Lake and the Susquehanna River, near West Pittston.

Today sail boarding is known as windsurfing. It adopted its name from Windsurfer International, a company Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake established on the basis of a patent granted to them in 1970 for a "wind-propelled apparatus." In all essential qualities, their claims duplicated Newman Darby's earlier work.

After Schweitzer bought out Drake's share in 1973, he energetically promoted the sport and licensed manufacturing rights to more than 20 companies around the world. Schweitzer forcefully prosecuted patent infringements he perceived among windsurfer manufacturers and he threatened to sue the 1984 Olympic Committee should it authorize a board produced by a manufacturer not licensed by Windsurfer International. Although he was aware of the growth of the sport and the profits flowing into Windsurfer International through its licensing activities, Darby was unable to mount a legal challenge to Schweitzer. His priority in the invention of the sport was overlooked and almost forgotten.

In the late 1970's, Mistral, a Swiss manufacturer sued by Windsurfer International in Germany, located Darby and presented his "prior art" as a defense. In the early 1980's, courts in the United States were asked to rule on the validity of the Windsurfer International patent. Newman Darby's prior art was at the center of the controversies. The court voided Windsurfer's original patent and Schweitzer was forced to apply for a reissue based on severely limited claims. He lost the use of "windsurfer" as a trademark. Schweitzer retained the reissued patent through further challenges until it expired in 1987. The example of Newman Darby has become a textbook case of the importance of thorough searches for "prior art" for patent attorneys.

Following completion of the patent litigation Darby designed original sail rigs for Mistral in Europe and Horizon in the United States. In 1982 Newman entered into a new partnership with his brothers Ronald and Kenneth and formed NRK, Inc., to design and manufacture windsurfing boards, training devices and to produce written and video documentaries of his contributions to the history of the sport.

Naomi Albrecht Darby, Newman's wife, sewed the first sails for the boards and participated in their testing and marketing. She documented Darby's inventions through the years in photographs and moving images. Over the years, Darby has worked on numerous inventions--most of them related to wind propulsion. Like many independent inventors, Newman Darby conceives of his ideas, executes all of the mechanical plans, builds his own prototypes and tests them. Darby continues to research improvements in windsurfing and to teach courses in boat building and design.

Related Materials:

An original sailboard, rig, mast and daggerboard from the same period are also housed in the Pennsylvania State Museum at Harrisburg.

Separated Materials:

The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts relating to S. Newman Darby and his invention of the windsurfer, including an original board, boom and mast, and sail dating from 1964. See accessions #1998.0086 and #1998.0323.

Provenance:

Most of the collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by S. Newman Darby and his wife Naomi on February 3, 1998.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Sporting goods industry -- 1950-1990  Search this

Sailboats -- 1950-1990  Search this

Patent law and legislation -- 1950-1990 -- United States  Search this

Patent licenses  Search this

Patents (international law) -- 1950-1990  Search this

Boatbuilders -- 1950-1990  Search this

Boats and boating -- 1950-1990  Search this

Boats and boating -- Designs and plans -- 1950-1990  Search this

Inventors -- 1950-2000  Search this

Inventions -- 1950-2000  Search this

Aquatic sports -- 1950-1990  Search this

Darby simulator  Search this

Windsurfers -- 1950-1990  Search this

Windsurfing -- Inventions -- 1950-1990  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertisements -- 1950-2000

Sketches -- 1950-1990

Photographs -- 20th century

Rigging plans -- 1950-1990

Sail plans -- 1950-1990

Legal files -- 1950-1990

Blueprints -- 1950-2000

Film (performing arts) -- 1950-1990

Illustrated periodicals -- 1950-1990

Correspondence -- 1940-1990

Design drawings -- 1950-2000

Drawings -- 1950-1990

Videotapes

Citation:

S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0625

See more items in:

S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a1c39256-e51a-4c44-92ca-dc22ec812dbb

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0625

Creator:

Maidenform, Inc.  Search this

Photographer:

Avedon, Richard  Search this

Names:

Coleman, Beatrice  Search this

Coleman, Joseph  Search this

Inventor:

Rosenthal, Ida  Search this

Rosenthal, William  Search this

Extent:

35 Cubic feet (87 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Newsletters

Tear sheets

Photographs

Videotapes

Clippings

Business records

Date:

1922-1997

Scope and Contents:

Patent and trademark documents, advertisements, sales and marketing material, market research, photographs, packaging, company newsletters and magazines, and business records documenting the history of the Maidenform Company from 1922 to1997.

Arrangement:

Collection organized into eleven series.

Series 1, Company History, 1922-1990

Series 2, News Articles, 1941-1997

Series 3, Patents, Trademarks, and Registrations, 1871-1979

Series 4, Publications, 1931-1997

Series 5, Sales and Marketing Materials, 1929-1997

Series 6, Advertising, 1929-1997

Series 7, Photographs, 1927-1993

Series 8, Patterns, circa 1950s

Series 9, World War II Activities, 1941-1946

Series 10, Labor Relations, 1937-1990

Series 11, Miscellaneous Unprocessed Materials

Biographical / Historical:

The history of Maidenform, Incorporated began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett. Ida Rosenthal was a Russian Jewish immigrant and seamstress at Enid's shop. In 1922, Ida and Enid decided that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the bandeaux style bras then in vogue. They gathered the bandeaux in the middle in a design modification that provided more support in a manner they believed enhanced, rather than downplayed, a woman's natural figure. Ida's husband, William, added straps and further refined the style. The called their bras "Maidenform", in counterpoint to the "Boyish Form" brand then in vogue. Initially, the bras were given away with each dress they sold. As the bras gained popularity they began selling them, and eventually the bras became so popular they stopped making dresses altogether and shifted to full-scale brassiere manufacturing. The first Maidenform plant opened in Bayonne, N.J. in 1925. After World War II, the company began marketing heavily in Europe and Latin America. Eventually, Maidenform operated plants in West Virginia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Documentation for the development and manufacture of a "pigeon vest" is also included in the collection. The pigeon vest allowed troopers to carry homing pigeons with them as they parachuted behind enemy lines. During World War II, Maidenform manufactured these pigeon vests and silk parachutes for the war effort.

Maidenform advertising campaigns were enormously successful, and generated controversy as well as praise. The now famous "I Dreamed" campaign was launched in 1949; this campaign ran for 20 years, making it one of the longest running campaigns in the history of advertising. The advertisements featured models in everyday or fantastic situations, elaborately costumed but wearing only a Maidenform bra above the waist. This campaign was followed by the "Maidenform Woman" campaign which was credited with boosting sales by 200 percent in some stores. The "Dares to Dream" campaign played off the "I Dreamed" tagline in 1984, and in 1987, the "Celebrity" campaign began. The "Celebrity" ads were notable for the absence of women in lingerie; instead, well-known male actors discussed their feelings about women and lingerie in print and commercial advertisements. The tone of the advertising shifted in 1992 with a series of ads called "The Women's Advocacy" campaign.

Maidenform was family owned and operated until 1997. After the death of William Rosenthal in 1958, his wife, Ida, became the president of their company. In 1963, she suffered an incapacitating stroke. At this time, son-in-law Dr. Joseph Coleman became head of the company. Upon his death in 1968, his wife (the only surviving child of Ida and William) Beatrice Rosenthal Coleman, gained complete control over the business until her death in 1990.

The Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation, a philanthropic and charitable institution founded in 1953, is run by granddaughter Catherine Brawer.

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds Maidenform artifacts including brassieres, girdles, and "long-lines," and two of the costumes used in the "I Dreamed" campaign.

Other Resources

Undergarment ads in the United States, 1947-1970

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Maidenform, Incorporated in May 1997.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

The donor has imposed restrictions on reproduction, broadcast or use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties. Reproduction, broadcast or other use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties is subject to prior written consent. These permissions will be required until July 2047. Please see the repository for further details.

Topic:

Advertising campaigns  Search this

Sex in advertising  Search this

advertising -- 20th century  Search this

Women in advertising  Search this

Brassieres -- 20th century  Search this

Parachutes -- 1940-1950  Search this

Symbolism in advertising  Search this

Homing pigeons -- 1940-1950  Search this

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertisements

Newsletters -- 20th century

Tear sheets

Photographs -- 20th century

Videotapes

Clippings

Business records -- 20th century

Citation:

Maidenform Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0585

See more items in:

Maidenform Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84cb6d644-c876-42a4-8825-697caee580c6

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0585

Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Names:

Stanley Home Products  Search this

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Vivian Woodward Cosmetics  Search this

Extent:

15 Cubic feet (42 boxes, 33 sound recordings)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Personal papers

Business records

Speeches

Audiovisual materials

Photographs

Date:

circa 1928-1968

Summary:

The papers consist of business records documenting the history of Tupperware from 1951-1958, during which Brownie Wise served as vice president of the Tupperware Company. Also, personal papers and business records documenting her marketing activities for Stanley Home Products, Vivian Woodard Cosmetics, and others.

Scope and Contents:

The Brownie Wise Papers constitute an essential complement to the Earl Tupper Papers, acquired in 1992, and to the museums rich collections of Tupperware products. Together these collections document not only the founding and early business history of Tupperware, but also significant areas of American history in which the museum has a demonstrated interest. The Brownie Wise Papers illuminate aspects of an American consumer culture which achieved its apex in the post-World War II years; in many ways, Tupperware and the Tupperware party reflect the key defining elements of the fifties. Of special significance is the story these papers tell of a successful woman business executive and working mother, in an era whose women have more often been characterized by June Cleaver and Harriet Nelson. The Tupperware story offers rich insights into the society and culture of the era, illuminating issues of gender, consumerism, and technological development.

There are approximately 15 cubic feet of materials, including photographic and audiovisual materials. The collection is organized into eight series.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, circa 1928-1968

Series 2: Stanley Home Products, Patio Parties, circa 1947-1959

Series 3: Tupperware Home Parties, circa 1951-1959

Series 4: Direct Sales consulting, circa 1958-1969

Series 5: Other Direct Sales Consulting, circa 1958-1971

Series 6: Other Business ventures, circa 1958-1967

Series 7: Photographs, 1930-1968

Series 8: Audiovisual Materials, 1953-1957; 1977

Biographical Note:

Brownie Humphrey was born in Buford, Georgia in 1913, the daughter of Rosabelle Stroud Humphrey and Jerome Humphrey, a plumber. According to longtime friend Kay Robinson, Brownie knew that there were few business opportunities for women in the South, and that "unless she wanted to work in sales, she would have to leave the South." After meeting Robert Wise at the Texas Centennial in 1936, where the couple saw an exhibition highlighting a bright future at Ford Motors, Brownie and Robert married and moved to the Detroit area where he worked as a machinist, later opening a small machine shop. The couple divorced in 1941, about three years after the birth of their only child, Jerry. Brownie Wise never remarried.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Brownie contributed to a correspondence column of the Detroit News under the pen name "Hibiscus." Her columns were largely autobiographical, but used elements of fantasy and romance to address a uniquely female urban community. In Detroit, Wise worked briefly at an ad agency and in a millinery shop. During World War II, Wise got a job as an executive secretary at Bendix. After the war, Brownie and her mother, Rose Stroud Humphrey, began selling Stanley Home Products. When Jerry became ill in 1949, they followed a doctor's advice and moved to Miami where they began a direct selling business they called Patio Parties. Through this business, the mother daughter team distributed Poly-T (Tupperware), Stanley Home Products, West Bend, and other household goods through an innovative home party plan adopted by Brownie.

Thomas Damigella in Massachusetts, and Brownie Wise in South Florida, quickly became among the fastest movers of Tupperware products, attracting the attention of Earl Tupper, who was still searching for a profitable outlet for his plastic containers. Because Americans were still skeptical of plastics and because the Tupper seal required demonstration, early attempts at department store sales had been unsuccessful. Some independent dealers had more success selling through demonstrations at state fairs or door-to-door, but sales and distribution remained low. The experiences of Damigella and Wise convinced Tupper to offer the products on a home party plan. He partnered with Norman Squires, the originator of Hostess Home Parties, to pursue this strategy.

In 1951, Tupper recruited Brownie to develop the Hostess party plan for Tupperware, and named her vice president of the company. She is credited with developing the party plan and sales organization, and with creating the annual Jubilee, a pep-rally and awards ceremony for dealers and distributors; it was her idea to locate company headquarters in Kissimmee, and she oversaw the design and construction of the campus. With the company's meteoric success came national recognition. Her public role was all the greater because Earl Tupper shunned all public exposure; Wise was the public head of the company throughout the 1950s. She was both honored guest and invited speaker at national sales and marketing conferences, where she was often the only woman in attendance. Scores of laudatory articles about her appeared in the sales industry and general business press, and she became the darling of the women's magazines, including features in McCalls, Charm and Companion.

Tupper and Wise clashed over the management and direction of the business in late 1957 and the board of directors forced her out in January, 1958. She filed a $1,600,000 suit against the company for conspiracy and breach of contract, but settled out of court for a year's salary -- about $30,000. Shortly thereafter, Tupper sold the company to Dart/Rexall and relinquished all involvement with it.

Beginning in 1958 and through the 1960s, Brownie co-founded three direct sales cosmetics companies, Cinderella (1958-59), Carissa (1963) and Sovera/Trivera (1966-69). She also was president of Viviane Woodard Cosmetics (1960-62), and consulted for Artex and others. In addition, she undertook a real estate development venture in Kissimmee with Charles McBurney and George Reynolds (both former Tupperware executives). She seems never to have achieved the same level of success in these later business ventures. Wise continued to live in the Kissimmee area, moving from Waters' Edge, the spectacular 1920s mansion she occupied during the Tupperware years, to a home George Reynolds designed for her in. She was active in her church and as an artist, working in clay and textiles. During the last eight years of her life she was in declining health. She died in December 1992.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History in March 1994 by Brownie Wise's son, Jerry Wise, of Kissimmee, Florida.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Direct selling  Search this

Women in marketing  Search this

Sales promotion  Search this

Product demonstrations  Search this

Plastics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Personal papers -- 20th century

Business records -- 20th century

Speeches

Audiovisual materials

Photographs -- 20th century

Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0509

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cb6c92b9-bbc8-44e3-9570-0d5bd7fede8e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0509

Photographer:

McCollum, J.  Search this

Collector:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Names:

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Collection Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (8" x 10".)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

[1954]

Scope and Contents:

Demonstrating the unbreakable Tupperware seal: Tupperware vice president Brownie Wise explains the benefits of Tupperware to an attentive and appreciative audience at a Tupperware party.

Biographical / Historical:

Wise is credited with developing the enormously successful--and widely emulated--home-party plan, in which neighbors and friends gather in a home where Tupperware products are demonstrated and sold.

Local Numbers:

00050901 (AC Scan No.)

Exhibitions Note:

Included in National Museum of American History virtual exhibit, "History Wired," http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=264.

See more items:

Tupper, Earl Silas, 1907- Earl S. Tupper Papers, ca. 1908-1989, 2003. AAK6338AH (GEAC)00111136

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with cotton gloves.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Interior decoration -- 1950-1960  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1950-1960 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin

Collection Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Brownie Wise Papers / Series 7: Photographs / THP events: Brownie " various, undated

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84aa0b8e9-24d9-40d7-8e9a-6fd1a8a686a4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0509-ref970

Collector:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Collection Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (Ink on cardboard.)

Type:

Archival materials

Coloring books

Paper dolls

Local Numbers:

02050922.tif (AC Scan No.)

General:

Box 11, Folder TW Publ.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Family -- 1940-1960  Search this

Genre/Form:

Coloring books

Paper dolls

Collection Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Brownie Wise Papers / Series 3: Tupperware Home Parties / 3.4: Tupperware publications / Tupperware publications:Best Wishes promotional

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep820d3c57e-83d7-477a-acf9-c5923eedcc66

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0509-ref971

Collector:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Names:

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Collection Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Extent:

1 Item

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Scope and Contents:

A woman in the audience is either crying or expressing surprise.

Local Numbers:

02050903.tif (AC Scan No.)

General:

Box 29 folder, Best Wishes.

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Costume  Search this

Fairies  Search this

Laughter  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1950-1960 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin

Collection Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Brownie Wise Papers / Series 7: Photographs / Best Wishes/The Wish Fairy

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87478b6d6-87f9-4a64-8c2c-69362298a2c7

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0509-ref972

Collector:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Names:

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Collection Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Extent:

1 Item

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Place:

Hawaii -- 1950-1960

Date:

circa 1950-1960

Scope and Contents:

Brownie Wise conducting a Tupperware "home party" on the beach; photographer unidentified.

Local Numbers:

AC0509-0000005.tif (AC Scan)

General:

In Box 29a, Folder 4.

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Beaches  Search this

Product demonstrations  Search this

Women in marketing  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1950-1960 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin

Collection Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Brownie Wise Papers / Series 7: Photographs / Tupperware trips

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85316689b-c873-4c10-b614-cc2fa9581406

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0509-ref973

Creator:

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Collection Inventor:

Wise, Brownie Humphrey, 1913-1991  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (6.5" x 9.5".)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1954

Scope and Contents:

Women attendees at Tupperware's 1954 annual jubilee walking in parking lot, with three automobiles; photographer unidentified.

Local Numbers:

01050919.tif (AC Scan)

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Tupperware Home Parties -- 1950-1960  Search this

Automobiles -- 1950-1960  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1950-1960 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin

Collection Citation:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Brownie Wise Papers

Brownie Wise Papers / Series 7: Photographs / Tupperware events: Big Dig/Rodeo, 1954

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cf774317-bf32-46a2-b8f0-8854a6a19ad4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0509-ref974

Creator:

Tupper, Earl Silas, 1907-  Search this

Tupper Corporation  Search this

Names:

Tupperware Home Parties  Search this

Tupper, Glenn O.  Search this

Tupper, Miles  Search this

Extent:

14 Cubic feet (29 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Letters (correspondence)

Advertising fliers

Business records

Personal papers

Photographs

Business letters

Notes

Clippings

Family papers

Interviews

Date:

2003

1908-1989

Summary:

Papers documenting inventor Earl S. Tupper, his inventions, Tupperware and the Tupper Company.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the life of inventor Earl S. Tupper through correspondence, notes, photographs, drawings and sound recordings.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into five series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1910-1989

Series 2: Early Business Papers and Scientific Notes, 1930-1965

Series 3: Tupper Corporation/Tupperware Business, 1908-1983

Series 4: Neil Osterweill Oral Histories and Research Notes, 1926-1989

Subseries 4.1: Research Files, 1926-1989

Subseries 4.2: Original Masters, 1987-1989

Subseries 4.3:Research Copies, 1987-1989

Subseries 4.4:Research Copies, 1987-1989

Subseries 4.5: Preservation Copies, undated

Series 5: Center for Advertising History, Oral History Interviews, 1992

Subseries 5.1: Original Masters, 1992

Subseries 5.2: Research Copies, 1992

Subseries 5.3: Research Copies, 1992

Subseries 5.4: Preservation Copies, 1992

Subseries 5.5: Abstracts and Transcripts, 1992, 2003

Biographical / Historical:

Earl Silas Tupper was born in 1907, to a New Hampshire farming family of modest means. During his youth and boyhood in New England, his mother Lulu Clark Tupper, took in laundry and ran a boarding house, while his father, Earnest Leslie operated a small family farm. Earnest Tupper loved to tinker, developing labor-saving devices for the farm and family greenhouses; one of his devices, a frame to facilitate the cleaning of chickens, was granted a patent. It is from his father that Earl Tupper is said to have developed a love for invention. Even as a boy, Tupper showed an enterprising and entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 10, Earl discovered he could move more of the family's produce by selling door-to-door, bringing the product directly to the customer.

After high school graduation in 1925, Tupper continued to work in the family greenhouses in Shirley Massachusetts for two years. Tupper was an ambitious young man, though, and he was determined to earn his first million by the time he was thirty. During the twenties, he set out on a number of different paths, including work as a mail clerk and on a railroad labor crew. In 1928, he took a course in tree surgery, with the idea of setting up his own tree surgery and landscaping business. He continued to help out with the family business, and got married in 1931. Through the early thirties, the landscaping and nursery business continued to grow and thrive, despite the Depression, enabling Tupper to pursue some of his ideas and inventions. His scientific notebooks for this period reflect the diversity of his interests. Even after Tupper Tree Doctors was forced into bankruptcy in 1936, Tupper remained optimistic about his ability to develop and manufacture some of his inventions.

In 1936, Tupper met Bernard Doyle, the inventor of Viscoloid, the plastics manufacturing division of DuPont, located in nearby Leominster, Mass. He went to work for DuPont in 1937, but stayed there only one year. Later, Tupper would say it was at Dupont "that my education really began." Tupper took the experience he had gained in plastics design and manufacturing at DuPont, and struck out on his own. In 1938, he formed the Earl S. Tupper Company, advertising the design and engineering of industrial plastics products in Leominster, Massachusetts. Much of the fledgling company's early work was performed under subcontract to DuPont. Business was good during the war, because despite the difficulty of acquiring the raw materials necessary for plastics production for the domestic market, Tupper Plastics was able to garner several defense contracts, molding parts for gas masks and Navy signal lamps.

After the war, Tupper turned his attention to developing plastics for the growing consumer market. Many of his earliest designs, which included plastic sandwich picks, cigarette cases, and an unbreakable tumbler for the bathroom, were offered as premiums with other products. For example, Tek toothbrushes offered the tumbler with purchase of a toothbrush, and cigarette companies and other businesses offered cigarette cases imprinted with their logo.

Plastics was still in its infancy in the forties, and the commercial market for plastics product was limited by plastic's reputation for being brittle, greasy, smelly and generally unreliable. Tupper's contributions were twofold. First, he developed a method for purifying black polyethylene slag, a waste product produced in oil refinement, into a substance that was flexible, tough, non-porous, non-greasy and translucent. Second, he developed the Tupper seal, an airtight, watertight lid modeled on the lid for paint containers. Together, these innovations laid the foundations for the future success of Tupperware. Nevertheless, marketing the new product presented a challenge. Tupper experimented with department store sales, but as Businessweek reported in 1954, "in retail stores it fell flat on its face." It seemed clear that the new lid required explanation or demonstration.

In the late 1940s, Thomas Damigella (in Massachusetts) and Brownie Wise (in Florida) were selling household products through Stanley Home Products. Purchasing through local plastics distributors, both began offering Tupperware as part of their product line, and were moving enough Tupperware to attract Earl Tupper's attention. In 1948, Tupper met with Damigella, Wise, and several other local distributors at a Sheraton in Worcester Massachusetts to discuss a new distribution plan. Modeled on the home party plan pioneered by Stanley Home Products and expanded and refined by Brownie Wise, the home party plan became and remains the exclusive outlet for Tupperware. Wise was named Vice President of the company (named Tupperware Home Parties) in 1951, a position she held until 1958, when Tupper sold the company to Rexall for $16 million.

Tupperware's success stems from the combined genius of Earl Tupper, the self-styled Yankee inventor and entrepreneur and Brownie Wise, the consummate saleswoman and motivator. If Tupper personified reverence for the product, Wise personified respect for the sales force. "If we build the people," she was fond of saying, "they'll build the business." Almost half a century later, their legacy remains an important part of Tupperware's continuing success.

Earl S. Tupper died on October 5, 1983.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Leo Baekeland Papers (AC0005)

DuPont Nylon Collection (AC0007)

J. Harry DuBois Collection on the History of Plastics (AC0008)

Celluloid Corporation Records (AC0009)

Albany Billiard Ball Company Records (AC#0011)

Brownie Wise Papers (AC0509)

Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection (AC0583)

Materials at the National Museum of American History

Tupperware related artifacts are located in the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), the Division of Medicine and Science and the Division of Work and Industry. See accessions: 1983.0711; 1984.1098; 1985.3014; 1985.3015; 1987.0180; 1990.3055; 1992.0209; 1992.0605; 1993.0257; 1994.0118; 1994.0124; 1995.0109; 1998.0070; 1998.0220; 2012.0133; and 2014.3077.

Provenance:

The materials were donated to the Archives Center in 1992 by Glenn O. Tupper, Earl Tupper's son.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but master (preservation) tapes are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Plastics  Search this

Plastic container industry  Search this

Plastic tableware  Search this

Product demonstrations  Search this

Business -- History  Search this

Marketing  Search this

advertising  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.

Advertising fliers

Business records -- 20th century

Personal papers -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Business letters

Notes

Clippings

Family papers

Interviews

Citation:

Earl S. Tupper Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0470

See more items in:

Earl S. Tupper Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ad4a9c5b-f0e3-47e5-8cc3-97c5acb9a0a4

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0470

Author:

Tupper, Earl Silas, 1907-  Search this

Collection Creator:

Tupper, Earl Silas, 1907-  Search this

Tupper Corporation  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (Graphite on paper., 11" x 8-1/2"?)

Type:

Archival materials

Sketches

Holographs

Manuscripts

Date:

February 13, 1937

Scope and Contents:

Holograph: loose-leaf notebook page, 5 holes, containing text and sketches for a Tupper invention, a folding comb which he called a dagger comb. Located in Box 3, Folder 4.

Local Numbers:

03047007 (AC Scan No.)

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but master (preservation) tapes are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Combs  Search this

Inventions -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this

Inventors -- 1930-2000  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketches -- 1930-1940

Holographs -- 1930-1940

Manuscripts -- 1930-1940

Collection Citation:

Earl S. Tupper Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Earl S. Tupper Papers

Earl S. Tupper Papers / Series 2: Early Business Papers and Scientific Notes / Notes on Inventions

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a7255034-d340-4c87-8ec2-a352f1e84ba6

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0470-ref807

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Interviews

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-01-24T20:20:08.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_0LNPlem2ZDs

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Interviews

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-01-24T20:28:57.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_0PNZ3SmvGaQ

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Interviews

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2022-05-11T15:32:46.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_1_QsE7pSSlU