Origins of the Trick-or-Treat Bag: The History of Ordinary Things
The brown paper bag is often taken for granted. Before the invention of the sewing machine (1850s), goods were transported in baskets, barrels, or clay vessels. Often grocers wrapped items in flat brown paper which they tied with string. The sewing machine created new packaging options such as feed sacks, canvas bags, burlap bags, or woven bags for everything from flour, salt and beans to animal feed and seed corn.
Machine production of paper bags revolutionized the packaging industry. In 1852, a machine to mass-produce flat bags was invented by Francis Wolle, a schoolteacher. His machine cut and folded paper into envelope-bottom bags. These flat bags could not hold items that were bulky or heavy. In 1853, a machine for making square-bottomed paper bags was patented by James Baldwin.
Margaret E. Knight worked for a bag company making bags by hand. She had grown up post the Industrial Revolution and was adept at mechanical thinking. In 1870, she created an upgraded paper bag machine. She was the first American woman to be issued a patent, but it was not without a patent lawsuit. A competitor who had stolen and patented her idea, rested his case on the fact that no woman could engineer such a machine. Margaret brought her work papers and won the case by explaining the machinations of her design.
Knight’s bags were strong enough to carry groceries and with mass production, cheap enough for the grocer to give out free. During this same time, a Swedish chemist, Carl Dahl, discovered the process of converting wood chips into pulped cellulose fibers which could be pressed into sheets of paper. The new strength of paper added to the bag’s success.
In 1883, Charles Stillwell added pleated sides to Knight’s bag design. It allowed the bags to fold flat. Known as a “Self-Opening Sack” (S.O.S.), the bags could stand open making them easy to load.
In 1912, a grocer from Minnesota, Walter Deubener, punched holes in the bag sides and added cords to create handles. This improvement revolutionized the brown paper bag. Thirty-seven years later, in 1949, the Interstate Bag Company made a machine to attach paper handles to shopping bags.
In the 1950s paper bags were embraced for their promotional value. Logos and retail branding were printed on bags to use shoppers as mobile marketing agents.
Plastic bags were introduced in the early 2000s essentially replacing the paper bag. The plastic bag is durable and costs about one quarter that of a paper bag. Today, due to environmental concerns, paper bags are increasingly favored over plastic. They are biodegradable and can be recycled. In addition, grocery shoppers are encouraged to bring their own canvas or woven bag. It has come full circle for groceries, but paper bags are here to stay.
> Read Full Biography
> More Articles Written By This Writer
- Origins of the Trick-or-Treat Bag: The History of Ordinary Things - October 24, 2025
- Why All Pyrex Is Not Created Equal: The History of Ordinary Things - September 26, 2025
- Weather Predictions & Folklore: The History of Ordinary Things - August 15, 2025
