Metal lunchboxes are accessories that have defined American kids since the 1950s. For all of their seeming variety, there aren’t as many different designs as might be imagined. As of 1985, when their manufacture was banned because of their potential as weapons, only about 450 designs were ever produced.And of those, there are three variations each on The Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. Alvin and the Chipmunks, Soupy Sales and Captain Kangaroo never got the full metal treatment (although they all did get vinyl lunchboxes). Who decided that Family Affair rated a box, while My Three Sons didn’t? The authors don’t even attempt to answer such questions.
What they have done is to photograph both sides of every metal lunchbox ever produced in America and to present them in full color and alphabetical order. The small amount of text includes facts about the boxes’ relative rarity, variations in design and trivia (the last metal lunchbox was a Rambo design). SA

Publisher: Schiffer
Paperback: 168 pages
Illustrated