Peter Cooper’s Clarified Gelatine

American inventor Peter Cooper has a special place in gelatin history. After purchasing a glue factory in New York City in 1822, he developed the first gelatin dessert powder, which he coined “portable gelatin.” footnote He secured a patent in 1845 and attempted to market the product, but there was little interest. footnote In 1895, Cooper sold his patent to Pearl Wait, a cough syrup manufacturer looking to dabble in desserts. (Wait’s wife May would name their product Jell-O.)

Peter Cooper’s gelatin story does not seem to end there, however—while he went on ascend the ranks of New York City business and politics, as well establish the Cooper Union college, an offshoot of his company continued to produce unflavored gelatin powder through at least the 1940s.

This particular box would have likely come from the late 1900s; it references the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which prohibited the somewhat common sale of misbranded, adulterated, or unsanitary food. It contains a satchel of enough powder to produce five pints of jelly, as well as a tiny recipe booklet, which you can peruse on the Internet Archive here.