Margaret Knight: Inventor Of Machine That Made Flat-Bottom Paper Bags

Flat-bottom paper bags are widely used by people because they provide comfort in carrying things and are eco-friendly since they can be decomposed, unlike plastic bags. When you carry one of these flat-bottom paper bags, do you ever think about the inventor behind them? Well, it was American inventor Margaret E. Knight who has made our lives easier today. She invented a machine that mechanised the production of flat-bottom paper bags. Earlier, these bags, as ubiquitous as now, were made using hands. But Knight's thoughtful invention eased the process. 

Born in 1838 in Maine, Knight rarely conformed to the stereotypical image of a girl that society had created. Rather than playing with dolls, she was interested in tools. She even used to make or improve the toys of her brothers and other children frequently. Her interest in tools led her to the doors of manufacturing companies where machines were used. She was very young when she started working with machinery. But how did a small girl holding tools in hand become an inventor of machines? There is a story behind this. 

When Knight made her first invention at the age of 12

When Knight's father died, her family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire so that her mother and her two brothers could work in the cotton mills. When Knight was 12, she started working in the cotton mills. An incident in the mill turned Knight into one of the youngest inventors. Once, while she was in the mill, a steel-tipped shuttle flew out of a loom and seriously injured a worker. Such accidents were common in the mills. But Knight refused to consider these incidents as common. As it is said, needs lead to invention. 

Knight invented a shuttle-restraining device. The cotton mill she was working in adopted the device and placed it on all the looms before other mills in the area could use it. 

The story of the historic invention of flat-bottom paper bags

Years after her first stint at the invention of machinery, Knight left the cotton mill due to poor health. During her adulthood, Knight worked in upholstery, photography, engraving workshops, and home repair. She gained a lot of knowledge and experience. At each place where she worked, Knight learned the processes and developed her skills. Her dedication to her work, experience and passion brought her to the doors of Columbia Paper Bag Company where she made a historic invention. 

Around 1867, Knight joined Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, Massachusetts. Soon she began developing a machine that could cut, fold and paste flat-bottomed paper bags. The machine's purpose was to eliminate the time-consuming method of doing the process with hands. 

Knight worked on the machine for two years after which she came up with a wooden prototype of the invention. The next process was to hire a machinist who could create a working model which could be presented to claim a patent. But Knight's journey to becoming an unerasable name in history was not easy. Or let me rephrase, the journey of a woman to become successful was not free of gender discrimination. 

The war between patriarchy and Knight

While the working model of the machine for the patent was still under construction, a machinist, Charles Annan, stole Knight's design and presented it as his own at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington D.C. When Knight came to know about the fraud, she immediately initiated a patent interference suit against Annan and hired a lawyer to defend her work.

Knight produced substantial evidence to prove that the design belonged to her including drawings, notes, entries from her diary, and testimony from her landlady, former employer, and machinist. Do you what Charles Annan argued? He said that as a woman, Knight was incapable of understanding the complexities of the machine. But Knight proved him wrong. She talked about the components of the machine and its function in extensive detail. What then? The judge awarded the patent for the machine to Margaret Knight. At that moment, Knight not only won the patent and justice for her hard work but also dismantled the patriarchy that belittles women and undermines their capabilities. 

Her life as an entrepreneur

Knight's endeavour didn't end here. She paired her technical skills with her interest in business and established Eastern Paper Bag Company in Hartford, Connecticut with a partner. She gained a licence to use the flat-bottom paper bag-making machine in the company. Her business skills paid off as she made a lot of profit. She negotiated an upfront payment of $2,500 with royal families and ended up earning  $25,000. 

By the time the sun in her life began to set, she had 89 inventions to her name and held over 20 patents. Although Knight was not wealthy, she lived independently. She never concealed her gender while promoting her work. Knight's assertiveness, ambition and awareness about equality and women's rights won her acclamation among women's rights activists. Even though she stopped breathing in 1914 at the age of 76, her achievements didn't cease. She was awarded another patent in 1915 posthumously.