Robert Gair was a Scottish printer and paper bag maker who invented the
folding carton
The folding carton created the packaging industry as it is known today, beginning in the late 19th century. The process involves folding carton made of paperboard that is printed, laminated, cut, then folded and glued. The cartons are shipped f ...
in 1879.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1839, he emigrated to the United States at age 14. Gair invented the
paperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in, or 12 Inch#Equivalents, points) than paper and has certain superior ...
folding carton by accident when a metal ruler used to crease bags shifted position and cut the bag. Gair found that by cutting and creasing paperboard in one operation, he could make
prefabricated cartons. He ultimately entered the
corrugated fiberboard
Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for maki ...
shipping container business in the 1900s. His idea was developed and utilized by
E. S. & A. Robinson with whom he had long-term business dealings.
Gair founded a paper empire and occupied several buildings in the area of Brooklyn now known as DUMBO, many of which still bear his name.
References
External links
Streetscapes/Robert Gair, Dumbo and Brooklyn; Neighborhood's Past Incised in Its Facades, The New York Times, By Christopher Gray, March 14, 2004.Robert Gair;: A study, by H. Allen Smith
1839 births
Businesspeople from Edinburgh
British emigrants to the United States
19th-century American inventors
19th-century Scottish inventors
Scottish industrialists
Year of death missing
Scottish company founders
American company founders
19th-century Scottish businesspeople
19th-century American businesspeople
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