The little-known history of paper bags

Paper bags (especially kraft paper bags) are the most indispensable shopping helpers for women today, and their role is no less important than that of a male escort. But because they are so cheap and common, their history is little known.

There are few items more common and useful than the paper bag. In the US alone, 10 billion of them are currently used (including reused) every year. Think about it: who - especially a child - hasn't enjoyed the generous gift of a paper bag? And who, if they are older, has not successfully packaged a child's drink in such a way that it can be enjoyed in public?

The paper bag has been flying around for years, changing in length and image, but few people have ever wondered where it came from. As for its association with women's rights and colourism (note: discrimination by light-skinned people of colour against dark-skinned people of colour, including black people against black people), that's even less well known.

From the beginning of recorded civilisation until the nineteenth century, containers evolved slowly, from animal skins and jars to wooden boxes and bronze, to lacquer, glass and porcelain, becoming increasingly elaborate but always heavy. It was only when paper-making was perfected and the industrial revolution collided with it in the 19th century that the lightness of containers became possible.

In 1852, the American Francis Waller invented the first ever paper bag-making machine, which operated on a simple principle: by hand, steam and paste were used to glue paper into large envelopes. Although this invention can be described as a zero breakthrough, but the paper bags out of the paste is not good, because, they are envelope-shaped.

For the next decade or so, mankind tossed around improvements to such machines in vain. It was only in 1871 that a 33-year-old woman, Margaret E. Knight, was able to break through the rot and introduce a machine that could make flat-bottomed paper bags.

This invention deserves to be credited, firstly, because it did open up a revolution in the history of packaging, and secondly: the world's recognition of the work of its owner, a woman, did not come easily.

Ultimately, the machine was born out of this woman's disagreement with the definition of gender.

In any case, in the history of the paper bag, Margaret Knight should not be forgotten. In an era when men dominated machinery and inventions, she was a hero of the powder team for being such an "iron rider", and her induction into the Paper International Hall of Fame in 2006 was well-deserved.