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2014

2025

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Sketch For "Water Motor Cycle" (USA)

This is a Sketch for "Water Motor Cycle". It was made by Earl Silas Tupper. It is dated Undated. Its medium is ink and pencil on paper.

Earl S. Tupper is best known for his “Tupperware,” its airtight “Tupper Seal” (US Patent 2,816,589, granted December 17, 1957) for food containers giving rise to an entire industry. But many of his earliest designs—including for this “water motor cycle”—reflect the flexibility of his ingenuity, demonstrating Tupper’s attention to detail. Such sketches capture not only his process but also the specific parameters for the use and manufacture of his idea: “The keel weight may be adjustable (up and down) and the body of the boat may be built high so as to give thrills on waves and curves, or afford absolute seaworthiness under worst sea conditions.”

It is credited Earl S. Tupper Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, 1992.3213.

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Its dimensions are

H x W (drawing): 28 x 21.6 cm (11 in. x 8 1/2 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Tools: Extending Our Reach.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/51682565/ |title=Sketch For "Water Motor Cycle" (USA) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>