Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America

by Alison J. Clarke

This detailed & entertaining book explores how the plastic storage containers known as Tupperware rose to prominence in 1950s America. More than just a clever use of plastic & an equally clever marketing tool, Tupperware was a symbol of its time & a perfect product for a consumerist age. Exploring this domestic icon of suburbia & its role in feminist history, Prof. Clarke's well-researched social history interprets this unassuming food storage system as a bridge between the thrift of the Great Depression & the heady consumer carnival of the 1950s. Her cultural analysis contributes to our growing appreciation of women's agency in the 1950s USA as well as in the larger culture of consumption. B&W photos.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Microhistory

241 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating argument hidden by some of the most boring prose I’ve ever encountered.

[Gayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given that this has been in my “currently reading” for 14 years - it’s probably time to abandon it! I just found it on my shelves with about 30 pages left to go. Doesn’t seem like there is a lot of point to finish it at this point. Not sure why I bought this. I was interested more in the time of domesticity when Tupperware started - and the rise and rise of plastic than the actual story of Tupperware as such. I obviously lost interest as it went on as the writing was quite boring at times. I do remember quite enjoying aspects of it, but the business info not so much. I hate abandoning books, but I have no intention to start reading it again!

[Matthew Gilmore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tupperwear as oppression, Tupperwear as liberation, Tupperwear as agency... the author swings wildly across this landscape. Horribly freighted prose dripping with academese--some I read out loud just for a laugh! A better book would have been a biography of Brownie Wise, heroine of this narrative.

[Angela]

This is a very detailed history of Tupperware, too much for me. I am intrigued by the rise of Brownie Wise, and how she made Tupperware what we know it as today.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marketing genius, consummate salesperson, cult

[Jeffrey Aubuchon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an insightful account of the development of both this product and the wider industry.

[Jennifer hensel · Rating 3 out of 5]

-American culture and object relationship.
-women's role in a postwar society
-Tupperware defining a time, place, and people.
* Objects have the capabilities to translate time and symbolic meaning.

[Jackie ϟ Bookseller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly an interesting read about the invention and consumer momentum of Tupperware, a company the last three generations of my family have used, but I feel like it could have been half the length and still said the same things.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather technical history but learned a lot of interesting thing about American culture from the 1930's through 1970's.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of detail. A taste of what life was like in the 30's 40'sand 50's.