Smithsonian - National Museum of American History, Behring Center
Taking America to Lunch
The Other Box
The Other Box
 
Woody Woodpecker lunch box

Click to enlarge imageWoody Woodpecker

by Aladdin, 1971
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Television transformed the lunch box from an ordinary food conveyor into a storyteller. Beginning in the 1950s, the screen-like sides of the lunch box offered children a new form of self-expression.

Box makers paid for the right to use TV shows to promote box sales. The studios used boxes to gain market exposure. And children acquired a new statement of their power and influence in the emerging world of mass-marketed consumer goods.

 

Partridge Family lunch box

Click to enlarge imagePartridge Family

by Thermos, 1971

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Welcome Back Kotter  lunch box

Click to enlarge imageWelcome Back Kotter

by Aladdin, 1976

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Knight Rider lunch box

Click to enlarge image Knight Rider

by Thermos, 1981

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Kung Fu  lunch box

Click to enlarge imageKung Fu

by Thermos, 1974

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The Flying Nun lunch box

Click to enlarge imageThe Flying Nun

by Aladdin, 1968

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Looney Tunes  lunch box

Click to enlarge imageLooney Tunes

by Thermos, 1959

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"Porky's Lunch Wagon"  lunch box

Click to enlarge image"Porky's Lunch Wagon"

by Thermos, 1959

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Batman and Robin lunch box

Click to enlarge imageBatman and Robin

by Aladdin, 1966

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Bozo lunch box

Click to enlarge imageBozo

by Aladdin, 1964

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