Featuring over 500 hundred lunchboxes as well as one-of-a-kind original paintings, the display provides an overview of the history of lunchboxes, insight into the production process and an educational introduction into the dynamic world of collecting. The Lunchbox demonstrates how lunchboxes are time capsules of American pop culture from the 1950s through the 1980s. Across America and beyond, schoolchildren celebrated heroes of the big and small screen, radio, sports and more on metal lunchboxes. Before computers made digital art a reality, lunchbox art came to life with the assistance of professional illustrators, whose brilliant work was transferred onto tens of millions of lunchboxes year after year. From practical beginnings, a culture of collecting was born that allowed individuals to recapture some nostalgia, history and art.
Key objects & Experiences
Over 500 lunchboxes from all eras, ranging from the early 1900s through the golden era between the 1950s to the 1980s as well more recent examples. From Hopalong Cassidy and Mickey Mouse to Superman, Star Wars, Pelé, and The Beatles, the collection celebrates all forms of pop culture in America and across the world.
A unique timeline that uses the lunchbox and supporting artifacts as a vehicle to experience historic moments like the invention of the sandwich, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the television, and the success of the Apollo 11 space mission and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.
Rare preserved production art paintings used for the final product, plus original proofs and metal production sheets, all of which provide a glimpse into how the lunchboxes were made and a healthy dose of nostalgia as well.
exhibit specifications
2,500 - 3,500 sqft
Now on tour, available to museums
This traveling exhibition was created by Mark Kelehan with content support from The Durham Museum
tour itinerary
March - September 2023 - The Durham Museum, Omaha, NE
AVAILABLE 2024 and onward
testimonials
“The Lunchbox: Packed with Pop Culture gave guests opportunities to explore the intersection between history and pop culture by learning the history of the lunchbox while seeing so many iconic pop culture characters. The wall of lunchboxes became a meeting place for multiple generations, with exclamations of delight as guests recognized the lunchbox they had in the past, identified their favorite character decorating a lunchbox or played an interactive game of ‘I Spy’.”
-Kim Henze, Director of Museum Operations, The Durham Museum
