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 fla ...

in 1879. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1839 he came 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#equivalences, points) than paper and has certain ...

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 Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

cartons. He ultimately entered the

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard 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 making corrugated ...

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.

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Additional References

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
20th-century American inventors Scottish inventors Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{US-inventor-stub