Petra (Emma Mearns) Cabot

An artist whose first love was painting, Petra Cabot, however, is best remembered for her 1950s design of the 'Skotch cooler', an insulated, airtight, four gallon cooler with three layers of insulation covered with plaid fabric.   It was copyrighted in 1952, and was revolutionary for keeping ice cream firm, and picnic food fresh for several hours without ice, and for serving fishermen well by keeping freshly-caught fish cold.

Before this invention, from 1938 to 1950, Petra Cabot worked as a designer with Russel Wright, "who brought modernism to the American home with his inexpensive, mass-produced dinnerware, furniture, appliances and textiles."  In 1939, Cabot received national acclaim for her work with Wrigh   ...  Displaying 750 of 2114 characters.