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Click here for the complete historical timeline of Toilet Paper and important
paper making dates, going back to 50BC...
When was the first roll of toilet paper made and by whom?
Scott Paper Company marketed the first rolls of toilet paper. The Company
was founded in 1879 by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott in Philadelphia
and specialized in producing toilet paper. At first they purchased paper and
tissue from outside suppliers and cut, rolled and packaged the paper. They
converted large parent rolls of tissue into small rolls and stacked sheets and
began to market the product through drug and variety stores under private
label names. Then, in 1896, Irvin's son Arthur joined the company at the
age of 21. He convinced his father and uncle to phase out their private label
business and concentrate on their own brand names. With this, Scott
purchased the private label name Waldorf from a Philadelphian 'paper
jobber' named Albert DeCernea in 1902 and began producing this as their
first brand name. As sales grew, it became evident that production changes
were necessary to guarantee consistency. In 1910, Scott bought an
abandoned soap factory in Chester, 5 miles south of Philadelphia for
$85,000 and began making their own parent rolls of tissue, 72" wide at
150-200 feet per minute instead of buying from others. Rolls were sold with
either 650 or 1,000 perforated sheets. In 1915, Scott installed an advanced,
high-speed Fourdrinier papermaking machine. It made paper 148" wide at
500 feet per minute. In 1921, their brand, Waldorf represented 64% of
Scott's total case sales. By 1925 Scott became the leading toilet paper
company in the world. (On July 17, 1995 Scott was acquired by Kimberly
Clark)
Early Marketing
The roll did not easily fit into the consumer market at first. At the time,
society did not speak of the subject frequently. It was quite 'unmentionable"
to talk about this product in the conservative, Victorian era. However,
during this time indoor plumbing was improving and the public had a desire
for better hygiene.
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What did people use before toilet paper was invented?
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The first newsprint was created from linen and rags. The rags were bought
in bulk and treated for hours before being used in the newsprint
production..
In 1872, Charles Benjamin Clark, a 28 year old Civil War veteran and
partner in the local Neenah, Wisconsin hardware store, recruited John A.
Kimberly to join him in building a paper mill. Kimberly, Clark & Co. started
their Globe Mill in Wisconsin. It was the first mill in Wisconsin to make
newsprint out of linen and cotton rags. Women sorted the rags by hand for
purity. Buttons and other hard substances were cut off. Then the rags were
cut up by machines and boiled in large vats for 14 hours. After the boiling
process, the rags were steamed, pressure-washed and rinsed for five hours.
The rags were then bleached. Afterwards they were drained, and "beaten"
to reduce the stock to a pulp. Bleaching chemicals were added for
whiteness. To attain the consistency that was needed, the pulp was
transferred through tubes and valves. Eventually, it was pumped into the
containers of the papermaking machine. The 72" sheets then were made to
pass through two different rolls: a copper steam-heated drier roll (which
eliminated excess water) and a polishing roll, which gave it a finish. The
final product was divided into squares, packaged in volume, and shipped to
vendors. It sold for $.14 per pound.
The Atlas Paper Co., was established in 1878 by the four Kimberly Clark &
Co. partners and three local businessmen.in Appleton, Minnesota. The
company experimented with new papers and new equipment. It specialized
in fancy manila wrapping paper, bond paper, box paper and achieved a
reputation for innovative products (including toilet paper) and processes. It
was the first mill in the state to produce paper made largely from ground
wood pulp. Previously, newsprint was made from rags.
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The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most
people think, but by Sir John Harington. Harington, a British nobleman and
godson of Queen Elizabeth I, invented a valve that when pulled would
release water from a water closet. Sir John recommended flushing the toilet
once or twice a day, although with our modern technology, we know that is
probably not sufficient. (Rumor has it that, in Robin Hood's day, King Arthur
- angry with how his brother ruled the country while the King was gone,
named fair toilette, 'the john' - AKA as 'the Jon' to you folks.)
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No. Although from 1861 to 1904 Crapper did have a successful career in the
plumbing industry, holding nine patents for plumbing-related products in
England, he did not invent the toilet. Albert Giblin holds the 1819 British
Patent for the Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer, a system that
allowed a toilet to flush effectively. Giblin worked for Crapper as an
employee and the most likely scenario is that Crapper bought the patent
rights from Giblin and marketed the device himself.
" According to bathroom historian Frank Muir, the toilet and/or the outhouse
have at one time or another been called the House of Honor (by the ancient
Israelites), the House of the Morning (by the ancient Egyptians), the
garderobe (literally, "cloakroom"), the necessarium, the necessary house,
the reredorter (literally, "the room at the back of the dormitory"), the privy
(that is, the private place), the jakes, the john, the loo, the W.C. (for water
closet), room 100 (in Europe), the lavatory, the closet of ease, and many
other things. In addition to euphemisms, needless to say, there is also an
abundance of vulgar expressions Curiously, however, there is no "real" word
for the place where one deposits one's bodily wastes. 'Toilet,' which is now
thought of as the "official" term, is itself a euphemism-originally, toilet was
the process of dressing, as in, "the lady has just completed her toilet."
Before toilet assumed its present meaning in the early twentieth century,
the accepted technical term for the "john" was the vaguely disgusting, but
still euphemistic "bog-house."
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Who was the first "soft" two ply toilet paper producer?
Paper production from wood did not actually begin until the late 1800s.
50BC the Chinese made paper first with short lengths of bamboo and later
added cotton linen rags which were soaked in water and pounded into
swollen pulp. This was then formed into sheets and dried
105 A.D. Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese court official, has his name linked to the
invention of paper. In all likelihood, Ts'ai mixed mulberry bark, hemp and
rags with water, mashed it into pulp, pressed out the liquid, and hung the
thin mat to dry in the sun.
Before toilet tissue- wealthy Romans used wool and rosewater and
sponges soaked in salt water at the end of a stick. Wealthy French used
lace, wool and hemp. In the Middle Ages they used hayballs and a
scraper/gompf stick kept in a container in the privy. Early Americans used
rags, newsprint, paper from catalogs, corncobs, and leaves. Vikings used
lambs wool. Hawaiians used coconut shells. Eskimos used snow and Tundra
moss. A bidet is used in France. Defecating in the river is very common.
Cleaning with the left hand and water is common in India. Sailors used the
frayed end of an old anchor line.
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8th century Arabs were known to make writing paper and were the first to
use linen in the process.
14th century England recorded locations for papermaking mills. Rags were
the principal raw material and they were in short supply, thus limiting
growth.
TP-1391 the first toilet paper reported used by the Chinese emperor. The
paper was made in 2 ft x 3-ft sheets. The Bureau of Imperial Supplies
began producing 720,000 sheets of toilet tissue per year.
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1716 Hemp was first used in an experiment as a raw material for paper
making in Europe.
1750 Holland- the first mechanical rag beater was developed called the
Hollander. It was a tube with a revolving roller inside that passed over
knives. This cut the rags up for pulping.
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1801 Crane 1801- Crane is founded by Zenas Crane, Henry Wiswall and
John Willard; the original one-vat mill has a daily output of 20 posts (1 post
= 125 sheets). Crane runs its first newspaper ad, asking ladies to save their
household rags for papermaking.
1819 Flushing toilet -the Silent valve was patented by Albert Giblin in
England. This allowed a toilet to be flushed more efficiently. He worked for
Thomas Crapper who had a successful plumbing company. He probably
bought the patent from Albert and marketed the toilet device himself from
1861 to 1904.
1820 a US census reported only 108 mills in operation compared to 179 ten
years earlier.
1822 US tariff was implemented to help the papermakers in the US. From
here on the industry grew steadily into its world dominance of today.
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1844 Money Paper- Crane patented a method to embed silk threads into
banknote paper to foil counterfeiters. The direct descendant of this idea can
be seen in the embedded security thread in today's U.S. currency. It was
patented in 1991 by Tim Crane, a member of the sixth generation
1854 Wood pulp first used- practical results of making paper from wood
pulp were first obtained. Mechanical wood pulp or groundwood, as the new
pulp was called, was used to supplement the supply of rags, and the
mixture of rags and wood pulp produced a paper suitable for the times.
Late 19th Century- The public's demand for better hygiene coincided with
improvements in residential and commercial indoor plumbing.
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1870 Groundwood mills- there were eight ground-wood mills in the US.
Mills were mostly in New England because of large supplies of spruce
pulpwood. In the 1890's mill were being erected in the Lake States region
because of the supply of spruce and balsam.
1880 Great Britain- The British Perforated Paper Company produced toilet
paper.
1882 Sweden- Sulfite pulping process - first used the sulfite pulping
process on a commercial basis.
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1900 The Soda process to make pulp- Soda pulp mills were erected in
the US. This is cooking wood chips in caustic soda. This is chiefly used in
treating short-fibered hardwoods such as aspen, gum, and poplar. Soda
pulp is primarily mixed with sulfite pulp to make printing papers.
1904 over 1,300 wood grinders were in operation in the US. Over 300
digesters produced sulfite pulp and over 200 digesters produced soda pulp.
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1907 Scott introduces paper towels. The Sani-towels became the first
disposable paper towel in America used in Philadelphia schools to help
prevent the spread of common colds.
1910 The Sulfate process to make pulp- first appeared. This helped the
US papermaking industry make pulp from the domestic southern pine
located in the Southern states instead of importing pulp from Canada. This
process is used to pulp long-fibered woods. It is a modification of the soda
process where sodium sulfite is substituted for caustic soda. It accelerates
the pulping process and requires less heat and pressure.
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1931 Scott makes ScotTowels, the first paper roll towel. They market
using 'Mr. Thirsty Fibre" for absorbency, wet-strength and economy.
1939 capacity in the US for sulfate pulp was 3,368,460 tons annually.
Sulfite pulp capacity was 2,524,950 tons.
TP-1942 two ply toilet tissue- was introduced by St. Andrews Paper Mill
in England. Before this toilet tissue was one-ply and not very soft.
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TP-1953 Charmin Baby born and takes the place of the Charmin Lady. In
1956 the "Charmin babies your skin" ad campaign began.
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1957- American Can buys Marathon Corp (formerly Northern Mills) and
Dixie Cup.
TP-1964 Mr. Whipple pushes Charmin & appears for more than 20 years
on TV, print and radio. The real Mr. Whipple was the president of the
Benton & Bowles advertising agency. He came up with "Please don't
squeeze the Charmin" ad campaign. He sold the rights to Procter and
Gamble for $1. Dick Wilson was a vaudeville actor that played the part in
the TV ad.
Mr. Whipple was the third most recognized name in the US behind Richard
Nixon and Billy Graham.
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1997- James River and Fort Howard merge to become Fort James
Corp.
TP- Purely Cotton toilet paper is introduced and made from 100% of
cotton and water, no wood. This from a new Seattle based company.
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2000 Georgia pacific acquires Fort James and the brands Brawny,
Quilted Northern and Dixie.
TP- 2001 Moist toilet paper- introduced by Kimberly Clark January 16.
Cottenelle Fresh Rollwipes are America's first and only dispensable pre-
moistened wipe on a roll. Also, that year Charmin purchased Moist Mates,
on May 7, claiming to introduce the first pre-moistened bath tissue. They
call it Charmin Fresh Mates.
TP- 2003 Annual global sales on toilet tissue exceed $19 billion. The
four major attributes are softness, absorbency, strength and value.
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