Who would have ever believed that a metal (these days plastic or vinyl) box with a lithograph picture and carrying handle would ever have made “history”? There is not only a history with lunchboxes but also a certain visible trend inherent in our pack-a-lunch culture. Lunchboxes enabled (and enable) people to dine when either restaurants were not available or simply too expensive. The history of the lunchbox, lunch kit or lunch pail is a colorful and detailed one indeed.
The first lunchboxes, if they can be called that, were generally pouches or purses made of animal skin that carried a person’s or child’s midday meal. It’s impossible to pinpoint the “first” creator of such a lunchbox. The first lunchbox, though, is traceable.
The first lunchbox started in the early1900s. In 1935, Geuder, Frey and Paeschke put Mickey Mouse on an oval tin, which included a tray and handle. In 1950, the year most people cite as the first year of the lunchbox, Aladdin Industries produced a lunchbox kit. Instead of Mickey Mouse, Aladdin used the then-famous Hopalong Cassidy decal on the top of the lunch pail. Aladdin made enough money to open another factory and the mass-marketing of lunchbox manufacturing began. Over the next few years, Aladdin Industries used Tom Corbett Space Cadet and Roy Rogers up to 1954.
The best place to buy a vintage lunchbox is in an online auction environment.
| Below are the current listings on eBay for Vintage Lunch Boxes. If you see one that appeals to you bid on it or type what your looking for into the search bar and you will be shown those items that are available right now on eBay. | ||||||||||||||
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US $650.00
Tags: vintage lunchboxes
