The collection documents the development of the Stanley Home Products Company, Incorporated its activities and those of its employees. The materials include photographs and photograph albums, speeches and presentations, catalogs and other printed material, inspirational and motivational materials, annual reports, film and audio recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The Stanley Home Products Company, Incorporated Records consist of photographs, financial papers and advertising materials documenting the history of Stanley Home Products its activities and those of its employees, its connection to the local community, and the philosophies of its founders and executives, especially Frank Stanley Beveridge and his close assistant Catherine L. O'Brien.
The majority of the materials date primarily from the 1960s and 1970s and includes photographs and photograph albums, speeches and presentations, catalogs and other printed material, inspirational and motivational materials, and annual reports. also film and audio recordings of Stanley "pilgrimages", meetings and other company events. There is a substantial amount of material relating to background information about Stanley Home Products and its founder Frank Stanley Beveridge.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eleven series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, 1912-1980
Series 2, Corporate Records 1940-1999; undated
Series 3, Financial Records, 1942-1979; undated
Series 4, Sales Records, 1912-1980; undated
Series 5, Advertising Materials, 1935-1982; undated
Series 6, Speeches and Inspirational Material, 1951-1979; undated
Series 7, Department of Education Records, 1946-1988; undated
Series 8, Photographs Visual Images, circa 1906-1990; undated
Series 9, Newspaper Clippings, 1910-1999; undated
Series 10, Publications, circa 1896-1981; undated
Series 11, Audiovisual Materials, 1951-1971
Biographical / Historical:
Company, started in 1931, which sold brushes and household products Stanley Home Products Company, Incorporated was founded by Frank Stanley Beveridge on August 15, 1931. The direct-selling company began in a small tobacco shed in Westfield, Massachusetts and eventually grew into a multi-million dollar, international business. Stanley Home Products is one of the founders of the direct-selling business. Unlike other direct-selling companies, Stanley Home Products has sold a large variety of products, including brushes, cleaners, small appliances, toiletries, beauty aids, clothes, and furniture.
One of Stanley's greatest contributions to the direct-selling business was the creation of the hostess party plan. The plan focuses on giving a party that allows a dealer to sell his or her products to several people at once instead of door-to-door. This system, which is used by companies like Tupperware, Avon, and Mary Kay, was created by Frank Stanley Beveridge and Catherine L. O'Brien in the early years of Stanley Home Products Company.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Brownie Wise Papers (AC0509)
Earl S. Tupper Papers (AC0470)
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Homer G. Perkins on behalf of Stanley Home Products Company, Incorporated in October, 2001.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research but the audio discs in box 48 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.
Collection Citation:
Stanley Home Products Collection, 1931-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
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.
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.
Film, sound recordings and documentary material relating to the history of Tupperware home parties and the Damigella Tupperware distributorship in Everett, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents:
Because of their long affiliation with Tupperware, the Damigellas have amassed a significant collection of archival documentation and memorabilia relating to the history of Tupperware, and particularly to the sales practices and sales force training methods of this highly successful, widely emulated, international corporation.
The collection includes film, sound recordings and printed material relating to Tupperware sales practices and methods of sales force motivation and control.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in ten series. Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically.
Series 1: CATALOGS, 1957-1997
Series 2: GAMES AND DEMONSTRATION GUIDES, 1965-1990
Series 3: ADVERTISING, 1970-1980
Series 4: TUPPERWARE INTERNATIONAL, 1960-1990
Series 5: RECRUITMENT, DEALERSHIP AND MANAGERSHIP, 1960-1995. Proscriptive and motivational literature about working for Tupperware.
Series 6: SOUND RECORDINGS, 1953; 1977-78
Series 7: OUR WORLD MAGAZINE, 1976-1991. Sales force magazine, containing demonstration, recruitment and sales advice; product information; and profiles of successful dealers, managers and distributors.
Series 8: JUBILEE PUBLICATIONS, 1967-1982. Publications reviewing and highlighting Jubilee, the annual sales force gathering in Orlando, Florida.
Series 9: DAMIGELLA DISTRIBUTORSHIP AND TUPPERWARE HISTORICAL MATERIALS, 1960-1991. News clippings, research reports, and other background information about Tupperware and the Damigella distributorship, including a chronology compiled by Tom Damigella, Jr.and material assembled by the son of Stanley Home Products and Tupperware salesman Norman Squires relating to his contributions to or innovation in the home party plan.
Series 10: MOVING IMAGES, 1951-1991. 54 16mm films and 2@ VHS videotapes. Film and video mastering and duplication were made possible by a gift from Tupperware International.
There are six subseries.
Subseries 1: Promotional/Motivational Films, 1960-1992. Contains promotional and motivational films featuring activities organized by the company to bring dealers and distributors together, usually with statements from Tupperware executives. Contains product promotion films introducing new Tupperware to the sales force. Contains Jubilee films showcasing the annual celebration, showing award ceremonies, games, music and entertainment (including appearances by Anita Bryant, Waylon Jennings and Pat Boone).
Subseries 2: Training Films, 1952-1997. Includes step-by-step guides to planning Home Parties, learning sales techniques, demonstrating products, and introducing new sales promotions. One film gives tips on safe driving to and from the Tupperware parties, for managers using cars leased by the distributorship for their use.
Subseries 3: Corporate Films, 1958-1992. Includes films showing product development from design to end result as well as discussions of business strategies.
Subseries 4: Commercials, 1983-1994. Presents new products; emphasizes effectiveness and efficiency of using Tupperware.
Subseries 5: Home Movies, 1951-1997. Includes home movies shot by Tupperware distributors Tom and Ann Damigella. This material includes tributes to the Damigellas.
Subseries 6: Acquired Films, 1961. Non-Tupperware films acquired by the Damigellas.
Biographical / Historical:
Ann and Tom Damigella already had experience selling Stanley Home Products when they encountered Tupperware in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Damigella foresaw great possibilities with the new product, and immediately decided to add Tupperware to the line of products they offered door to door. In 1950, they attended the first "round table" meeting with Earl Tupper (inventor of Tupperware), Brownie Wise (who perfected Tupperware's home party sales system) and sixteen to twenty other Tupperware distributors from around the country. The Damigellas quickly became some of the top Tupperware sales people in the country; in 1952 they were awarded a Cadillac as one of the top six movers of Tupperware in North America. Self-proclaimed Tupperware people, their son, Tom Damigella, Jr., and son-in-law, Jon Nelson, followed them into the business, making the Damigella Distributorship the oldest and among the most successful distributorships in the country -- the distributorship has been in the top 25 in sales every year since the early 1960s. Tom. Jr. manages the distributorship since his father's retirement in 1994; Jon Nelson went on to become one of Tupperware's regional vice-presidents.
Related Materials:
Tupperware may also be found in the Museum's Division of Domestic Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). Researchers interested in the history of Tupperware should also consult the Earl Tupper (AC#470) and Brownie Wise (AC#509) Collections in the Archives Center.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by Ann and Thomas Damigella in July 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the fils 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:
Most items have copyright and/or trademark restrictions. Tupperware films: Most duplication and use of films in commercial and non-commercial productions requires written permission from the Tupperware Corporation. See repository for details.
Topic:
Plastic container industry -- 1950-2000 Search this
Collection documents Norman Squires's career as a salesperson for the Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America, Stanley Home Products, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Norman Squires conceptualized and implemented the party plan method of direct selling.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents Squires's professional life as a salesperson with four companies: Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America (WearEver Company), Stanley Home Products, Encyclopedia Britannica and Tupper Corporation. Most of the materials relate to the creation of the hostess party plan and his achievements in sales. There is very little information about his personal life other than a few family photographs. The collection is useful for understanding selling techniques dating from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Background Materials, circa 1908-2006
Series 2, Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America, circa 1934, 1936, undated
Series 3, Stanley Home Products, 1938-1946, undated
Series 4, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1956-1958
Series 5, Tupper Corporation, 1950
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Stanley Home Products Collection (NMAH.AC.0788)
Earl S. Tupper Papers (NMAH.AC.0470)
Brownie Wise Papers (NMAH.AC.0509)
Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection (NMAH.AC.0583)
Helen Hoch Tupperware Films (NMAH.AC.0865)
Jon and Sylvia Boyd Tupperware Films (NMAH.AC.0870)
Provenance:
Daniel T. Squires donated his father's papers in 2006 and requested that the materials be titled the "Norman W. Squires Collection."
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
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.
Open House! Open house for stockholders and customers. Maxwell House Coffee, General Foods, San Leandro, CA.
Fares Please! Johnson Fare Box Manufacturing Co., Chicago, IL.
Mop Up! Manufacturing. Stanley Home Products Co., Westfield, MA.
The Car of Tomorrow! The LeSabre, experimental automobile. General Motors
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made directly with the Archives Center staff to view episodes for which no reference copy exists. 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 will be charged for reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Industry on Parade Film Collection, 1950-1959, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Series 2: Stanley Home Products, Patio Parties, Poly-T Parties, Hibiscus Sales and Gardenia Sales, circa 1947-1959. This series includes records of Wise's innovative direct sales businesses for the period before she was recruited by Tupperware. Files include order forms, correspondence with sales agents, and instructions on sales methods. There are sales records, invoices, shipping documents, accounting records and sales force newsletters from the Miami Tupperware dealership known as Hibiscus Sales, which Wise opened in 1949 with her mother. Until her death in 1959, Brownie's mother Rose Humphrey, continued to operate the Miami dealership as well as Gardenia Sales, which supplied Tupperware to Puerto Rico. There are accounting records and dealer correspondence documenting this enterprise.
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.
Collection Citation:
Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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.
Collection Citation:
Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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.
Collection Citation:
Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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.
Collection Citation:
Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
