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Clarke, Alison J : Tupperware: The Promise Of Plastic In 1950s America

Smithsonian Institution Pres, Washington, DC, 1999

ISBN 1560988274

241pp. B&W Photographs. Review copy with the publisher's slip laid in, 8vo, Fine in Fine DJ

1st Edition

CLARKE, ALISON J: : TUPPERWARE: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America

US.WASHINGTON.SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS,1999.

ISBN 1560988274.

US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE+/FINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of publisher's price.Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,monochrome photographic illustrated dw/dj,with blue, black and pink lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present. A tiny closed tear to head of spine/ backstrip's front gutter's edge and imperceptible,superficial,minimal scoring to dw/dj.Top edge lightly dust-soiled with slight thumbing/smudge(?) towards the b/w striped headband,fore-edges brighter and cleaner; contents bright,tight,clean - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,publisher's original, speckled pink paper-covered boards with black cloth blind spine with bright,crisp, pink ink printed letters to spine/ backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers.US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,ix-xpp+1- 241pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements,an introduction,8 chapters,profuse b/w contemporary illus and photographs throughout the text and the book,a conclusion,notes and an index.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,contents list/table and 2pp blanks at rear. From Wonder Bowls to Ice-Tup moulds to Party Susans,Tupperware has become an icon of surburban living.Invented by Earl Tupper in the 1940's to promote thrift and cleanliness,the pastel plasticwares were touted as essential to a postwar lifestyle that emphasized casual entertaining and celebrated America's material abundance.By the mid-1950's the Tupperware party,which gathered women in a hostess's home for lively product demonstrations and sales, was the foundation of a multi-million dollar business that proved as innovative as the containers themselves. Alison J. Clarke shows how the "party plan" direct sales system,by creating a corporate culture based on women's domestic lives,played a greater role than patented seals and streamlined design in the success of Tupperware.Drawing from newly available records and interviews,Clarke describes how Tupperware Home Parties,Inc.,reinforced a conservative ideal while undercutting thst ideal by offering women economic independence through a flexible,home-based form of employment.The enterprise was led by Brownie Wise,a struggling single mother who became a celebrated businesswoman by using self-help philosophies and lavish prizes to motivate her sales force. Tracing the fortunes of Earl Tupper's polythene containers from early design to global distribution,the author explains how Tupperware tapped into potent commercial and social forces,becomimng a prevailing symbol of late twentieth-century consumer culture. Please contact seller,because of the weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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