lunch box

LizzieMaine · Aug 8, 2011

I usually carried a paper bag with wax-paper wrappings around my sandwich -- and sometimes I'd also take a small pill bottle full of malted milk powder to mix with the regular milk. I'd bring the bag home to be reused, and we'd usually get at least a week out of one bag before it started to fall apart.

In grammar school I occasionally had a metal lunch box, usually one of the red plaid ones. No licensed characters for me.

When I worked in radio I carried my lunch in a WW2 .30 cal ammunition box. Nobody dared to try to steal from that.

Tomasso · Aug 8, 2011

Clara's great; now I want a pepper and egg sammy..........and my mother and grandmother never used a cutting board either.

DanielJones · Aug 9, 2011

I think in grade school I had a Scooby-Doo lunch box and a Hong Kong Fuey one. They didn't last long so from around 3rd grade on it was brown bag lunches. made the brown bag last a long time too.
I've been using a cooler lunch bag for the past 10 years and I think I need to move to the vintage level of dome lunch boxes just to mix it up. Most modern offerings just don't do it for me.

Cheers!

Dan

Bluebird Marsha · Aug 9, 2011

I had a stars and stripes dome box in 2nd grade. Somewhere in there I got a Star Trek box. These days I use a bento box. That box is totally safe in the communal refrigerator, since most of my co-workers are afraid of what's in it

LoveMyHats2 · Aug 9, 2011

Vintage era lunch boxes are very cool. Up in Northern Michigan many of the antique shops sell them for a hefty price. Some have lunch boxes that are from the 1950 era that have famous T.V. show themes, such as Lassie, Soupy Sales, Rin Tin Tin.

V.C. Brunswick · Aug 9, 2011

LoveMyHats2 said:
Vintage era lunch boxes are very cool. Up in Northern Michigan many of the antique shops sell them for a hefty price. Some have lunch boxes that are from the 1950 era that have famous T.V. show themes, such as Lassie, Soupy Sales, Rin Tin Tin.

Here's one that I think Tom would be proud to carry. I actually remember it from way back when.

AtomicEraTom · Aug 9, 2011

Hmm... wonder what they'd say if I had this in hand walking in the plant before shift....

V.C. Brunswick said:
Here's one that I think Tom would be proud to carry. I actually remember it from way back when.

PoohBang · Aug 9, 2011

I carry this one everyday... I get a positive comment on it just about everyday

Tomasso · Aug 9, 2011

The Wolf said:
How would an office worker carry his lunch in the 1930s or 1940s?

To answer the original question:An office worker might carry his lunch in his briefcase.

Wire9Vintage · Aug 10, 2011

once upon a time, larger offices had canteens or cafeterias. No need to bring lunch.

DanielJones · Aug 10, 2011

PoohBang said:
I carry this one everyday... I get a positive comment on it just about everyday

That one is exactly like my Pops lunch box. The only exception is the cartoons he painted on it.
Do you fit a thermos in it and if so what kind?

Cheers!

Dan

DanielJones · Aug 20, 2011

Well, my lunch box showed up and it cleaned up nicely. I still have to sand some of the rust off of the latches but at least the stuff that was pasted on washed off easily. A little soak in HOT water and it softened the rubber cement nicely. The inside is immaculate so I don't think I'll muck with that.

I figure I'll mask off the rest of it and get some Krylon Engine or BBQ black to give it a new tough paint job. Plus the plaid thermos I just won on ebay should fit right in it. A nice vintage lunch receptacle.
I'll be sure to take some pictures when I am done sprucing it all up.

Cheers!

Dan

MikePotts · Jul 11, 2012

I thought I remembered there being a more recent thread on 'lunch pails' but this was the closest on 'search'....anyway, here's another option:

http://lifewithoutplastic.com/boutique/traditional-metal-lunchbox-big-daddy-145-large-p-621.html

MP

Stanley Doble · Jul 11, 2012

Yzerman said:
I am new here so not sure if I should start a new topic just for this with my photos or continue on here.
Very interesting stuff on here I could read this all day. I am fascinated with history and the early 1900s way of life. I just read the long forum (68 pages)
with all the vintage telephones.
Anyway, I picked up this lunch box, typical black metal with curved top, but I was surprised to see the 3 strap leather handle. It definitley looks original, but I was wondering if someone could tell me if it is? Would they have made them like this from the factory?

It originally had a leather strap but not like that. It appears the original broke, and was replaced with a leather boot lace.

Look at the pictures of the ones with the plastic handle. Yours would have been similar in shape, made of a strip of leather, the ends folded over and sewn. Or in some cases the ends would have simply been pushed through the metal staples, and had tabs to prevent it pulling out.

"SMF Quality Made in Canada" still going strong 60 years later, we made good stuff in those days.

fashion frank · Aug 9, 2013

Beer Pails

This is related to this topic but not just about the lunch pails ,but this .

Have any of you seen or heard about the "beer pails" they used to use in the old days .
At lunch time the workers would sent a kid for a couple of coins to the closest bar and the bar keep would fill up the pails with beer and then hook them on a pole with notches cut into it for the handles and the kid would put it across his shoulders and carry it " china men style " ( sorry not trying to offend anyone ,just don't know how else to describe it ) back to the work site and the men would have a cold beer to wash down their lunch.

Can anyone here shed light on that practice .
I know that I have seen pictures of this but I could not find one today.

Imagine having a nice "cold one " with your lunch!

All the Best , Fashion Frank

The King of Cool · Aug 9, 2013

I am thinking the term "Sack Lunch" comes to mind

fashion frank · Aug 9, 2013

Otis said:
Yes, Benjamin Franklin described just such an arrangement in his Autobiography. I can't recall perfectly, but I think it was during the time he was living in England, ca 1730.

Thanks for responding to my query.
I was thinking more of the time frame around 1930 and or 1940 ,I have seen a few pictures of this but would like to know more .

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

vitanola · Aug 10, 2013

The "Growler" (beer pail) was a casualty of Prohibition and the rise of bottled beer. By the time of Repeal, it was quite extinct.

Edward Reed · Oct 29, 2020

I carry this vintage lunch box branded Universal by L.F. & C. (Landers, Frary & Clark) to work. Very sturdy and heavy tin. Can use it as a weapon. Not particularly rare.
I added a vintage waterslide decal of a pinup girl onto it. one day I'll get a decent useable vintage "Universal" thermos for it. I see them on eBay often but my modern one fits just fine and I'm not sure I want to deal with a cork stopper anyway.

A very unique and clever design (if not a tad awkward) in a style made around 1913 through the 1920s. Instead of the usual flip top it slides out from the front and there is a formed shelf at the top for the thermos. the tab at the top snaps into the upper formed area to lock it gently in place so it doesn't slide out as you carry it. pulls out pretty easily with just a touch of effort. probably popular with miners and steel workers back in the day.

Edward Reed · Oct 29, 2020

1918-Landers-Frary-Clark-New-Britain-CT-Universal-1.jpg

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