Tupperware--An American Icon...A Hot Collectible
by lagrandefromage
eBay Member

One of the things that drew me to eBay as a buyer was the joy of finding something that I'd seen as a child in my home or at my grandparents' home. My grandmother seemed to have an endless supply of Tupperware in her kitchen, and the warm pastel colors reminded me of lazy days in the summer, slurping an Ice-Tup treat, or eating cereal in a Wonder bowl.

It was here at eBay that I was able to find all of the old pieces that I grew up with. Seeing something that brought back fond memories also got me into more than a few bidding wars!

* * *

What began as an experiment by Earl Tupper in the 1930's quickly evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. Tupperware was invented in 1946 as a way for housewives to keep food fresher longer in the newfangled refrigerators popping up in kitchens across America. By 1949 Tupper oversaw the Tupper Corporation in Farnumsville, Massachusetts using the sales slogan "Utility Plus Art" and the trademarks "Millionaire Line," "Tupperware," "Poly-T" and "Tupper-Seal".

Tupper invented and patented the unique airtight seal that allowed a person to "burp" the air out of the container and keep its contents safe from the drying air of the refrigerator. Tupper first introduced his line in department and hardware stores, but consumers didn't understand the uniqueness of the airtight seal, so sales never really took off.

Enter…Brownie Wise.

Brownie Wise was a single mother with a talent for direct sales and marketing. She convinced Tupper that selling directly to the consumer in the comfort of their home was the way to go. Wise was so successful demonstrating and selling Tupperware that the "Tupperware Party" was born...and she was on her way to being one of the most famous and successful businesswomen of the era.

Wise was made the company's vice president in charge of all sales and distribution in 1951. Tupperware was pulled from the store shelves and distributed by home sales only. By 1954 she became the first woman ever to appear on the cover of Business Week. Wise feminized retail, as British design historian Alison Clarke illustrates in the book, Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America.

With the concept of home parties came incentive gifts for women who would host these gatherings and eventually sell the product themselves. Gifts included things as simple as free Tupperware, and as elaborate as extravagant vacations. It was all a way to show women the door to becoming self-sufficient financially without shirking their duties as wife or mother. A Tupperware hostess could earn between $25 -$30 in those days for holding a party, and she could do it while cooking dinner and watching her kids.

Sales incentives are still alive and well today, with Tupperware dealers earning free cars or trips. Did you know that there is a Tupperware party being held every 2.2 seconds around the world, with 85% of those parties happening outside of the US? The product line also includes different pieces for foreign countries, such as sushi storage boxes in Japan.

How do you tell how old a piece is? Some of these pieces, which are pictured from my collection, are from the very beginning and were manufactured and sold in the late 40's and 50's. Pieces with the name "Tupper!" are highly sought after. Other early pieces were stamped "Millionaire Line," "Tupperware," "Poly-T", and "Tupper-Seal". Pieces like these are a permanent part of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. All of the pieces from the 50's were white or pastel color, while the hip colors of the 60's and 70's were the orange, avocado, yellow and brown that was so prevalent on kitchen appliances at that time.

* * *

I have tried other brands of plastic storage containers, but none of them can come close to the real McCoy-Tupperware DOES keep food fresher longer than any other plastic storage container.

And it's nice to open my refrigerator and see all of the lovely pastel colors smiling back at me. Just like they did when I was a kid.