Vintage Lunch Box presents
One hundred and twelve tin stories, 1952 to today
Once upon a lunchtime, a tin box carried more than a sandwich. It carried your favorite show, your hero, your whole Saturday morning. This is the story of one hundred and twelve of them, told in order, from 1952 to today.
Contents
Chapter One
Cowboys, space cadets and a certain mouse. The first heroes to ride to school on a tin lid.
9 pieces
No. 01
The winged-circle Ohio Art stamp on the bottom dates it to the 1950s. Dome lunch pails are a distinctive form, and the streamliner design pulls in railroadiana collectors too.
Ohio Art confirmed via bottom stamp
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 02
Among the very first licensed character lunchboxes ever made. The 1952 blue box with the small framed panel is museum-grade hobby history.
First-gen character box
No. 03
Roy on Trigger, on one of the most famous and valuable lunchboxes ever made. This is crown-jewel tier, the box other boxes are measured against.
Top collectible
No. 04
One of the very first character lunchboxes. The 1950 Hoppy box arguably started the entire hobby, and this 1954 red version is a cornerstone piece.
Early key piece
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 05
The later Hoppy box, with the whole lid printed in full color instead of a decal on a plain painted box. Set beside the red one, it shows how quickly lunchbox art grew up.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 06
One of the earliest character lunchboxes ever made, and the 1955 embossed original is a cornerstone piece. Bagged examples in clean shape are genuinely desirable.
Key early piece; bagged
No. 07
Roy Rogers was the king of the 50s lunchbox aisle with multiple boxes to his name. The Chow Wagon is a great western piece from his peak.
No. 08
A short-lived 1955 TV western, but the lunchbox outlived the show by decades. Early western boxes are solid, steady collectibles.
No. 09
Milton Caniff’s aviator hero on the orange-border box. Late-50s adventure-strip boxes are underappreciated sleepers.
Bagged
Chapter Two
Television fills the lunchroom. Batman arrives in purple, and the cowboys start sharing the shelf.
15 pieces
No. 10
A souvenir-style landmarks tin, personalized with someone’s name in marker. As an artifact of the family road-trip era it’s genuinely charming.
Personalized
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 11
“Y’all come back now.” Jed, Granny and the clan on the orange-border embossed box. Black gold, Texas tea.
No. 12
The embossed sailor-man box with Wimpy, Olive Oyl and the gang. Popeye boxes span decades; the 60s embossed ones are the lookers.
No. 13
The long-running TV western’s red-border box. Wagons ho: eight seasons of trail dust in tin form.
No. 14
The 1960s ’girl’ boxes sold the dream of high-school royalty, all pink and prom dresses. Pure mid-60s Americana, and this one has been kept bagged and cared for.
Premium piece
No. 15
War toys ruled the late 60s, and this combat-scene box is the lunchbox equivalent of a Sgt. Rock comic: green border, grit, and all.
No. 16
The dolphin TV star’s box. Aquatic adventure shows were a 60s fad, and this is a fun curio from it.
No. 17
The Adam West era! The purple-border 1966 Batman is THE classic superhero lunchbox. Pow, zap, and straight to the top of want lists.
No. 18
Hanna-Barbera’s trench-coated spy spoof. Under-the-radar cartoon cool.
No. 19
The masked rider’s black-and-orange box. Swashbuckling never goes out of style.
No. 20
The bear-and-boy TV show on the orange-border box. Gentle-giant energy, pure late-60s.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 21
The Rex Harrison film’s pink-border box with the giant snail. Whimsical, colorful, and very late-60s.
No. 22
Schulz’s gang on the orange-border box. Good grief, it’s timeless.
No. 23
Mattel launched Hot Wheels in 1968 and the lunchbox was right behind it. A blue redline racer, flame-orange swoosh and enough speed lines to outrun the lunch bell.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 24
Dagwood and his skyscraper sandwich, which may be the most fitting picture ever put on a lunchbox. Chic Young’s strip had already been running since 1930.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
Chapter Three
Saturday mornings, pop idols, superheroes and sitcoms. The biggest chapter in the book, and the loudest.
50 pieces
No. 25
“Beep beep!” The Looney Tunes boxes were Warner Bros. licensing gold. This one shows honest wear on the lid, the mark of a box that was actually loved.
Some lid wear
No. 26
Hillbilly-bear bands were a 70s novelty riding the Country Bear Jamboree era. The maker is unconfirmed, and the bottom stamp will settle it.
Unidentified maker. Dixieland bear band scene; not the Hair Bear Bunch box (compared directly).
No. 27
Teen-idol boxes were big business, and Bobby Sherman’s pink “With Love” box is the archetype: stats, bio and all, right on the lid.
No. 28
Helmet-design football box from around 1970. Sports boxes have their own dedicated following.
No. 29
A zippered vinyl hippie-era school bag in full flower-power bloom. Groovy.
Vinyl, not metal
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 30
A pretty floral tin, personalized with someone’s name. Somebody’s Janice loved it.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 31
Yabba-dabba-doo. The nighttime Bedrock scene on the red border is one of the nicer Flintstones designs Aladdin produced.
No. 32
Bert and Ernie flying a kite, an earlier Sesame design than the ’82 yellow box also in the collection. Two Sesames, two eras.
No. 33
The musical family’s bus on the dark-border box. “Come on get happy!”
No. 34
The LAPD procedural was must-see TV, and Aladdin’s box put officers Malloy and Reed’s patrol car on the lunch table. A solid slice of early-70s cop-show culture.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 35
Motocross was exploding in the early 70s, and the green-border box captured the dirt-bike craze head-on.
No. 36
A second gridiron box for the sports-collector lane. Workmanlike and honest.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 37
Woody’s cackling laugh headlined Walter Lantz cartoons for decades. The early-70s box is classic cartoon fare.
No. 38
Released at the absolute peak of Osmondmania, this unmistakable purple box put all five brothers on kids’ lunch tables. One of the most vibrant pop-star lunchboxes ever produced.
Premium piece
No. 39
“Hey hey hey!” The Junkyard Gang on the orange-border box, a Saturday-morning staple that is still loved by collectors.
Premium piece
No. 40
Raggedy Ann and Andy have been childhood staples since 1915, and the 1973 box put the rag dolls front and center. There are two in the collection, a matched pair.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 41
The second of the 1973 Raggedy Ann and Andy boxes. A matched pair is a set-builder’s dream.
Pair, 2 of 2
No. 42
David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, the Shaolin priest wandering the Old West. The show ran only three seasons, but the yellow-border box is a perfect martial-arts-TV time capsule.
Premium piece
No. 43
The 1973 animated film’s box on the green-teal border. Disney’s furry outlaw, robbing from the rich.
No. 44
Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals put a neighborhood of kids from every background on the comics page, and Kid Power carried them to Saturday-morning television. The whole gang marches across the lid.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 45
Holly Hobbie’s bonneted country girl was a mid-70s merchandising phenomenon, from greeting cards to linens. The blue-rim Aladdin box is one of the prettiest ’girls’ lunchboxes of the decade.
No. 46
Issued as Pelé was closing out his legendary career with the New York Cosmos. The crossover appeal to soccer fans worldwide keeps demand strong.
Premium piece
No. 47
The Richard Bach bestseller became an unlikely merchandising moment. A literary lunchbox, and one of the oddest in the hobby.
No. 48
“Number one super guy!” Hanna-Barbera’s kung-fu dog on the pink-and-blue box. Henry the janitor would be proud.
No. 49
Bicentennial Washington on the stars-and-stripes border. The whole country went red-white-and-blue in ’75-’76, lunchboxes included.
Bicentennial
No. 50
Hanna-Barbera’s prehistoric adventure lasted a single season in 1974, but the 1975 lunchbox outlived it. Obscure cartoons make for great collector conversation pieces.
No. 51
A boatload of cartoon patriots in tricorn hats, with the title signed in a flourish across the top. One more piece of the red-white-and-blue wave that rolled in ahead of 1976.
Bicentennial
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 52
Disney’s bicentennial celebration box with the liberty bell front and center. Bicentennial merchandise has its own dedicated collector niche.
Bicentennial
No. 53
Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, straight from the Saturday-morning Hall of Justice. The pink rim makes it one of the loudest superhero boxes of the decade.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 54
Thor, Spider-Man and Captain America share this side of the box, years before any of them had a blockbuster to their name. Packed with characters and color on every panel.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 55
A lunchbox with a lesson plan. Power generators in kilowatts, racing engines in cubic centimeters, Olympic distances in meters and prescriptions in grams and liters, all from the years America was meant to go metric.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 56
Snoopy in his Beagle Scout hat with Woodstock’s troop marching behind, and a four-panel strip about packing for a hike: extra socks, a map, a compass, and lunch. A second Peanuts for the collection.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 57
Aaaay! The Fonz and the Cunningham gang on the 1976 box. Happy Days ruled Tuesday nights, and this is peak 70s sitcom merch.
No. 58
The 1977 Mouseketeer revival, boat scene on the red border. There are two of this box in the collection, a matched pair.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 59
The second of the 1977 revival boxes, completing the pair.
Pair, 2 of 2
No. 60
The legendary KISS box: Aucoin’s merchandising machine at full power, all fire and face paint. One of the hottest music boxes in the hobby.
High demand
No. 61
Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Gabe Kaplan’s Sweathogs on the 1977 box. Classroom comedy gold.
No. 62
Stormtroopers stop a landspeeder in Mos Eisley, and these are not the droids they are looking for. This is the first Star Wars lunchbox, from the year everything changed.
Key piece
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 63
One box per brother, issued at the height of Saturday Night Fever mania. The collection has the complete Barry, Robin and Maurice trio.
Complete 3-brother set
No. 64
The Christopher Reeve film year. The red-border Superman is a superhero-box staple every collection seems to include.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 65
A second Superman for the collection, with the Man of Steel flying over Metropolis on the red-rim side.
Pair, 2 of 2
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 66
The middle brother’s box. One third of a complete trio.
Complete 3-brother set
No. 67
The third brother completes the set. Three individual boxes are nice; one complete trio is something special.
Complete 3-brother set
No. 68
A second Maurice Gibb box, this one with the honest wear of a lunchbox that went to school every day. The trio is complete, with one to spare.
Second Maurice
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 69
The original series’ yellow-border box, Cylons and all. Sci-fi collectors love these.
No. 70
Kermit and company at the height of Muppetmania. The gold border frames one of the best-looking TV boxes of the late 70s.
No. 71
The Sunshine Cab crew on the yellow-border box. TV comedy boxes are a fun little subgenre of the hobby.
No. 72
The TV epic’s cast on the box. Big-sky western nostalgia in tin form.
No. 73
“Nanu nanu.” Robin Williams’s breakout role on the yellow-border box. Orkan charm, Boulder setting.
No. 74
Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo on a lid covered edge to edge in caramel popcorn. Candied popcorn and peanuts, and the more you eat the more you want.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
Chapter Four
The movies get bigger, the cartoons sell toys, and plastic starts to creep in.
24 pieces
No. 75
Tied to the ill-fated 1981 film. The movie flopped; the Lone Ranger endures regardless. Hi-yo, Silver.
No. 76
The arcade craze in lunchbox form, yellow border and all. Waka waka.
No. 77
Tied to the 1982 John Huston film with Aileen Quinn. The sun’ll come out tomorrow, for Annie collectors at least.
No. 78
The bonnet-girl illustrations on the blue-border box are pure sweetness. A gentle early-80s piece.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 79
The yellow-border box with Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster and Prairie Dawn comes from Sesame Street’s golden era. Sesame boxes spanned the 70s and 80s and this is one of the most recognizable. Just about every collector has owned one.
No. 80
“A Real American Hero” relaunched G.I. Joe in 1982 and conquered the toy aisle. The green-border box rode that wave. Yo Joe!
No. 81
The orange cat’s video-game parody box, Space Invaders jokes and all. Very, very 1982.
No. 82
The plastic ’lunch shuttle’, Thermos’s late-era space-age design. A novelty of the plastic lunchbox years.
Plastic
No. 83
The second Heathcliff design in the collection: the ’dog food’ gag box on the blue border. The cat clearly runs this household.
No. 84
Jim Henson’s dark fantasy epic on the blue-border box. A cult following keeps this one in demand.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 85
A second Dark Crystal box. Jen, Kira and Fizzgig, twice over.
Pair, 2 of 2
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 86
Lee Majors’s stuntman show, with helicopter and truck on the box. The unknown stuntman who made Redford look like a star.
No. 87
The rainbow box is peak 80s toy aisle. Care Bears merchandise was absolutely everywhere in ’83 and ’84.
No. 88
Luke on the blue-border box. Star Wars lunchboxes are blue-chip collectibles. They simply never go out of style.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 89
A second Return of the Jedi box, with Luke facing down one of Jabba’s guards on the lid.
Pair, 2 of 2
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 90
The doll craze in lunchbox form, green border and all. Peak 1983. You had to be there.
No. 91
KITT on the blue-border box. 80s TV action at its finest. One man can make a difference.
No. 92
He-Man holds the wall with Teela at his side while Skeletor closes in. By the power of Grayskull, this was the toy aisle in 1983.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 93
Bottle only. It pairs with the 1984 Alvin and the Chipmunks lunchbox, should that box ever surface.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 94
The animated spinoff’s red-border box. Late-era cartoon tin, and there are two units in the collection.
Pair, 1 of 2
No. 95
Red-border Indy at the height of the adventure craze. Fortune and glory, kid.
No. 96
The second of the 1984 Pink Panther and Sons boxes. Two of a kind.
Pair, 2 of 2
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 97
Spider-Man and Captain America against Doctor Octopus and Doctor Doom, from the comic and toy crossover that took over 1984. One of the last great superhero tins.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 98
Stallone’s one-man army got the Thermos treatment in 1985, at the absolute height of Rambo fever. Pure 80s action cinema in tin form.
Chapter Five
Fewer school lunches, more shelves. Promo tins, reproductions and one soft bag.
7 pieces
No. 99
A brewery promo tin, not a school lunchbox. Fun on a bar shelf.
Modern promo tin
No. 100
A modern reproduction tin trading on the ’How to Marry a Millionaire’ imagery. Decorative, not vintage.
Modern reproduction
No. 101
A soft-sided Disney bag from the ’Classic Pooh’ line, tag still attached. Modern merchandise, not a collector tin.
Modern; soft-sided
No. 102
The Shady Rest crowd in a cast photo on a yellow rim. A later keepsake tin for the 1960s sitcom rather than a box from its own era.
Modern
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 103
Steam engines thunder across the lid under a grinning boy, in the style of the old Lionel catalog covers. Still sealed in its bag. The collection opens with a train and comes back to one here.
Modern; bagged
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 104
A tin shaped like a tire, lettered around the rim like a real sidewall. A modern novelty that makes a good partner for the 1969 box.
Modern
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 105
A modern embossed tin with Cap and the flag. Not a school-days original, but it stands tall on a shelf.
Modern
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
Chapter Six
Rock stars, wizards and Springfield. The lunchbox becomes a thing you collect on purpose.
4 pieces
No. 106
A late-era plastic box from the Thermos brand’s final years. Plastic lunchboxes never caught fire with collectors the way the metal ones did.
Plastic; modern
No. 107
“Pin Pals” was Homer’s bowling team in the classic ’Team Homer’ episode. This early-2000s tin rode the second great Simpsons merchandising wave.
No. 108
NECA’s 2001 black tin put Kurt Cobain’s portrait front and center, licensed from Courtney Love a decade after Nevermind changed everything. One of the defining music-merch lunchboxes of the Y2K era.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 109
The Order of the Phoenix tin, with Harry, Ron and Hermione staring out from the lid. NECA’s tins cashed in on Pottermania at its height. These were made in large numbers, so they trade more on fandom than scarcity.
Modern
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
Chapter Seven
Happy little accidents and stadium souvenirs. The story so far ends here.
3 pieces
No. 110
The “happy little accidents” tin arrived with the Bob Ross renaissance of the 2010s. A mass-produced novelty, better as desk decor than as a collectible.
Modern
No. 111
A modern novelty tin with kids in space helmets. Little verifiable info, which makes it a curiosity.
Ask about this pieceFrom the owner’s own photographs
No. 112
A modern stadium-style tin from the Halladay/Wells era Jays. A fan-shop piece.
Modern
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The last page
Photos are representative examples from collector listings and auction archives, each linked to its source. 35 pieces are pictured from the owner’s own photographs. Backgrounds were removed so every box can stand on its own shelf.
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