Author: Emma Baumgardner

Earl Tupper’s Tupperware did not originally sell well; department stores first sold Tupperware. Tupper knew he needed a new strategy. Brownie Wise originally sold Stanley home products through home parties. ¹ Tupper learned of Brownie Wise’s home parties and sought her home party system to reach women.

Wise’s home parties were geared exclusively to women because while women became entrepreneurs, they were still in the home space. The parties were held at the host’s house where a representative, Wise, would show off the Tupperware to be sold at the parties directly to the guests.²

Before home parties, which were used primarily by Stanley home products which sold cookie cutters and other plastic wear, women were reached by direct selling techniques. Direct selling meant that the person selling the product sold a product immediately to the customer. Women were also reached by magazine advertisements and magazine ordering of products.³

Direct selling involved either door to door salespeople or salesmen at department stores. Department stores were seen as a feminized space and started “personal hygiene” departments. These parts of the store were staffed by female salespeople to make women feel comfortable while buying birth control.⁴  

The ideal female space during this time period was the home. Therefore, Brownie Wise built on the idea of sections in department stores selling products by women to women.⁵    Similar to the women salesmen in department store selling birth control to women, Wise sold Stanley products directly to women in the home.  Brownie Wise took the domestic sphere and made women the entrepreneurs of it because they were the ones who knew it the best.⁶

Brownie Wise called Earl Tupper during his disappointing years selling Tupperware unsuccessfully from the shelves at department stores and reccomended her home parties to sell Tupperware. Brownie Wise became the instigator of Tupperware home parties where women could sell directly to other women in the comfort of their own homes. Since kitchens used Tupperware extensively, Tupperware was inherently gendered towards women. ⁷

Footnotes

<sup>1. Bob Kealing, Tupperware Unsealed: Brownie Wise, Earl Tupper, and the Home Party Pioneers. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2008, 11.
2. Ibid, 15↩
3. Andrea Tone, “Contraceptive Consumers: Gender and the Political Economy of Birth Control in the 1930s.” Journal of Social History 29, no. 3 (Spring 1996), 485.↩
4. Ibid, 487↩
5. Bob Kealing, Tupperware Unsealed: Brownie Wise, Earl Tupper, and the Home Party Pioneers. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2008, 20.↩
6. Ibid, 26.↩
7. Ibid, 35.↩</sup>

Before the invention of plastic occurred in the 20th century, families used a variety of methods to try and keep their leftovers fresh. Shaker boxes were made out of wood and generally stored dry items. They were also sold in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. The most popular selling was the oval nested shakers. This design allowed for easier use and storage.

Shaker boxes were inspired by the religious group known as the “Shakers.” This group is most similar to the Quakers who fled England due to religious persecution. They were known as Shakers because of their enthusiastic church services.¹ Shakers valued perfection and precision in every aspect of their lives, these values extended to their furniture and other hand made items.

Shaker furniture was characterized by their  values in simplicity and exactness, “the value placed on simplicity is especially apparent in Shaker crafts, distinguished by their ordered, clean lines. The characteristic smoothness of the surfaces in furniture also suggest their religious emphasis on perfection.”² Shakers did not invent the wooden shaker but they did popularize it and as well as perfect it in the 19th century.

 

 

Footnotes

^{1. [New York Observer and Chronicle, “The Shakers.” July 5, 1866.]↩}]
^{2. [Simon J. Bronner,  Encyclopedia of American Folklife, Routledge, 2006. 1115-1116.]↩}]

Before the invention of Pyrex, glass was used mainly in a scientific setting. It was used as a container to quickly heat liquids. In 1915, the use of glass became relevant to home life. The American company, Corning Glass, marketed glassware that could be used for cooking or storing food under the name Pyrex.¹

The name Pyrex was said to be chosen due to the intention of the glassware to be used as pie pans. This company used borosilicate glass rather than something known as lime glass, which was popular at the time. This new glassware was more resistant towards breaking as a result of temperature fluctuations and more regulated for high heat.

Pyrex became wildly popular, according to a study, “Of the various borosilicate glasses, Pyrex received the highest rating with respect to its ability to sustain mechanical shock.”² Pyrex and glassware can easily be viewed as an alternative to Tupperware. This type of food storage does not come without its own drawbacks. Pyrex was still very susceptible to shattering due to extreme changes in temperature or a moment of clumsiness.

 

Footnotes

^{1. [William B, Jensen, “The Origin of Pyrex,” Journal of Chemical Education 2, no 12. (May 2006): 2. ]↩}]

^{2. [Ibid]↩}]

The mason jar was invented in 1858 by a tinsmith named John Landis Mason.¹ This American invention allowed for much more sufficient storage and preservation of foods. Before this invention, Americans were using pickling, salting, and various other methods of food preservation. Mason jars were revolutionary because they created a vacuum which was air tight and allowed for safer and easier storage. There was less possibility of air entering the jar which would cause the contents to become contaminated.

Mason jars were considered safer than tin cans and glass jars. According to a 1920s study, “visible dirt in cans and jars consists largely of fine soil particles, dust, coal-dust, soot, cinders, paper, grease, wood, lint and even nails, vermin excrement and insects.”². The sealing method of the mason jar allowed for this type of contamination to be limited.

The mason jar was clear which allowed for the contents to be visible. This allowed food storage to become more efficient because families could tell what the contents of the jars were without having to open them. The jars spread quickly across America and a variety of mason jar companies arose after Mason’s patent expired.

Mason jars continue to be popular in the 21st century. They are a classic household item found all across America. They are easily considered an alternative, if not, just as successful as Tupperware.

Footnotes

^{1. [C. R. Fellers, “Tin Cans and Glass Jars as Bacterial Contaminants in Canned Foods,” American Journal of Public Health and the Nation’s Health 18, no 6. (June 1928): 1-8.]↩}]
^{2. [Karin, McKenna, “The Mason Jar,” Bee Culture 144, no. 1. (January 2016).]↩}]

 

Skeleton Outline

Proposals and Outlines- Under this tab we will post our project proposal as well as our skeleton outline for the website and documentary.

Antecedents- Here we will list the antecedents that were used before Tupperware was invented,  we will also be posting corresponding images so that viewers can see what the available items looked like.

Storage Antecedents:

• Mason Jars
• Pyrex (glass)
• Glassware
• Oval wooden shakers

Marketing Antecedents:

• Department stores salesmen (women)
• Door to Door salesmen (birth control)
• Home parties (Brownie Wise, Stanley)

History of Tupperware

1. This section will talk about how Earl Tupper invented tupperware while he was making plastic products for the war. Although he had his products sold in stores and in house parties, his sales were not taking off and he was struggling to turn a profit.
2. This section will also discuss Brownie Wise, how she became involved with Tupperware and her impact on tupperware sales and beyond. Brownie Wise, currently selling products for Stanley Home Products and wanted to help Tupperware by increasing sales in the home. She was later promoted to VP of the Tupperware company.

Impact of Tupperware

1. This section will discuss how Brownie’s home parties revolutionized sales, and empowered women to be entrepreneurs while working from home.
2. It will also discuss the impact that it has had on competing brands as well as how Tupperware has become a common household name for a product, even if they are a different brand.
3. Endorsed gender stereotypes by maintaining home space as a place for women, even though women could profit off of it.

Documentary- Here we will post our mockumentary and the sources we used to produce it.

Timeline/storymap

-Antecedents:

• Marketing: birth control during 1930s
• Brownie Wise marketing,
• Glass-precursor
• Plastics: After WWII

-Tupperware’s Evolution and Origin

• Tupper’s initial idea: playing with plastic
• Meet with Brownie Wise=TUPPERWARE PARTIES.

Documentary outline:

• Time frame: 10-15 minutes
• Yousef- Earl Tupper, narrator
• Emma- Brownie Wise
• Emily and Nicole- women at a Tupperware party
• 1950s era style and dress
• Mockumentary begins with Earl Tupper (a DuPont employee) tries to create a product with plastic
• Eventually creates Tupperware bowl and lid
• Struggles to sell product
• Mockumentary will show Tupper’s failed attempts to market and sell product
• Brownie Wise notices that Tupperware was not selling at department stores
• Brownie Wise and Earl Tupper meet on Tinder (maybe)
• Meets Brownie Wise
• She comes up with innovative way to sell Tupperware: Tupperware parties
• Mockumentary demonstrates Wise marketing Tupperware to women at parties
• Emma, Emily and/or Nicole bring up antecedents (ie glassware)
• Ex: “My food has gone bad!”; “My glass container broke AGAIN!”
• Wise also discusses how becoming a Tupperware entrepreneur is the best way for women to make money without
• A jealous Tupper grows resentful of Wise, confronts her and fires her after a year
• Flash-forward to modern age: Tupperware is a staple in kitchens across the country
• Talk about other products that have been influenced by tupperware or direct sales
• Companies like Glad and Pyrex enter the market and create their own “food storage containers”
• Talk about how even brands that aren’t technically tupperware (glad, ziploc, rubbermaid) people still refer to it as tupperware (common household name)  
• Impact of tupperware: flash forward to a present day kitchen with tupperware
• Emily and Nicole talk about how Tupperware is overlooked in our society
• Ex: “We take Tupperware for granted.”; “What would we ever do without Tupperware?”
• Ghosts of Tupper and Wise proudly reflect on their contributions (maybe)

List of media (image, videos, etc.).

Iconic image:

Steinmetz, Joe, photographer. “[Tupperware advertisement featuring a Joe Steinmetz photograph.]” Photograph. C1958. From State Library and Archives of Florida. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tupperware_advertisement_featuring_a_Joe_Steinmetz_photograph_(9005296853).jpg (accessed March 16, 2017).

Pictures and advertisements:

Brownie Wise Papers, 1938-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. AC0509-0000003

Catalog Advertisement” scanned advertisement. Brownie Wise Papers, National Museum of American History Archives Center, circa 1949-1966. AC0509-0000066. .

“Earl Tupper and Brownie Wise at the Tupperware factory in Farnumsville, Massachusetts,” 1951, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

Tupper, Earl. Open mouth container and nonsnap type of closure. US Patent 2487400 filed June 2, 1947, and issued November 8, 1949.

“Tupperware Price and Order Form,” scanned document. Brownie Wise Papers, National Museum of American History Archives Center. Circa 1951-1959.

Antecedent pictures:

TwoScarsUp, photographer “[Glass canisters made by Sneath Glass Company for Hoosier Cabinets.]” Photograph. c2008.  From wikipedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sneath_Glass_Company_canisters_for_Hoosier_Cabinets.jpg (accessed March 16, 2017).

Wycoff, Carl. “[Images of items found at the Shake Village at Pleasant Hill.]” Photograph. Nevada, USA. c2009.From The Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boxes_in_the_Shaker_Village_at_Pleasant_Hill-RZ.jpg (accessed March 16, 2017).

“Look at What All She Got for Christmas!” Better Homes and Garden, 1958, advertisement. “Saltycotton,” Flickrcommons, taken 2010.

“[Unidentified stacks of home-canned food.]” Photograph. From Library of Congress: World War, 1939-1945 Home food processing United States. Transparencies– Color. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PreservedFood1.jpg (accessed March 16, 2017).

YouTube advertisements:

“The Tupperware Party – The Product & Its Many Home Uses – Storage to Gifts – 1950’s,” Historia – Bel99TV, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyGasL0WYg

“Tupperware television commercial for their 10th anniversary,” Jeff Quitney, advertisement, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV-K9KfFwBs

 

While Earl Tupper was the mastermind behind the invention of tupperware, Brownie Wise was instrumental in tupperware sales. Wise, a single mom, could see how great tupperware could be to have in the household and came up with the idea of a tupperware party. Women would host tupperware parties to get their friends to see how the product worked, what they liked and didn’t like as well as provide a fun and social atmosphere. Tupperware parties were revolutionary and helped to skyrocket tupperware sales.

Jeff Rose, “Tupperware Parties Transformed the 1950s”,www.shfwire.com, 10/7/99,  http://www.shfwire.com/tupperware-parties-transformed-1950s/