Metal Lunch Box & Thermos

NEMS Enterprises set consisting of a lunch box and a thermos

the first set dedicated to The Beatles

One example is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

According to an exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum, “... in 1965, The Beatles became the first pop group to grace a metal lunch box.”

But you already knew that, because every morning you carefully packed your lunch—a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Wonder bread—inside the one thing you could really show off… your Beatles lunch box. “It’s not just a nostalgic object; that box represents the intersection of two American cultural forces of the time: The Beatles themselves, of course, and the rise of the lunchbox as an expression of self-identity for children (and a way to market to them). A lunchbox wasn’t just a lunchbox, but a statement of who we were,” as the Smithsonian exhibition ‘Taking America to Lunch’ puts it”—Maria Godoy, National Public Radio.

The lunch boxes were manufactured by Aladdin Industries, 703 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville, Tennessee.

The lunch box and thermos, known as the “blue” lunch box (as opposed to the “Yellow Submarine” lunch box produced by Thermos in 1968), was manufactured from 1965 to 1966. 

The lunch box was made of metal and measured 21 cm x 19 cm x 10 cm. It was painted aqua blue and featured a thermos and a vacuum-sealed lid with a cup. The faces of the Beatles were embossed on one side, and on the opposite side, the band was depicted playing their instruments in their Shea Stadium outfits. Aladdin’s art director, Elmer Lehnhardt, used photos by Dezo Hoffmann to create the portraits of the Fab Four.  

The blue thermos is 17 cm tall with a diameter of 8 cm. The bottle is decorated with the words “The Beatles” and images of the group wrapping around both sides. 

In 1965, a lunchbox with an alternative design was created: a light blue, oval-shaped soft vinyl box labeled “vinyl for girls” or “Beatles brunch bag.” Manufacturer: Aladdin Industries Inc., Nashville, Tenn. Copyright 1965 NEMS Enterprises, Ltd. It measures 20 x 9.5 x 17.5 cm and features a top zipper and a black plastic strap.

On the box: an image of The Beatles on the front. The lunchbox was originally packaged with the same type of blue thermos as the metal lunchbox. On the thermos: the faces of The Beatles on one side and the band playing on the other.