Family & Social Life - Overview
Donations to the Museum have preserved irreplaceable evidence about generations of ordinary Americans. Objects from the Copp household of Stonington, Connecticut, include many items used by a single family from 1740 to 1850. Other donations have brought treasured family artifacts from jewelry to prom gowns. These gifts and many others are all part of the Museum's family and social life collections.
Children's books and Sunday school lessons, tea sets and family portraits also mark the connections between members of a family and between families and the larger society. Prints, advertisements, and artifacts offer nostalgic or idealized images of family life and society in times past. And the collections include a few modern conveniences that have had profound effects on American families and social life, such as televisions, video games, and personal computers.
"Family & Social Life - Overview" showing 1946 items.
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Luggage Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1957. It features a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible metal handle, and the exterior design simulates a brown leather suitcase.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- American Thermos Bottle Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.04
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Plaid Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box was manufactured by the Ohio Art Company in1957. It features a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible red, plastic handle. The exterior design is a red, brown and yellow plaid design.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- Ohio Art Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.05
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Satellite Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in late 1957 sparked interest in the United States in science education even among elementary school children. In 1958, King Seeley Thermos produced this imaginative box evoking space travel and landings on distant moons and planets. Children provided a receptive audience to this imaginary yet hopeful view of scientific achievement in the early years of the space race. This is one of the few pop culture lunch boxes from the late 1950s not designed around a television show.
- Description
- The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in late 1957 sparked interest in the United States in science education even among elementary school children. In 1958, King Seeley Thermos produced this imaginative box evoking space travel and landings on distant moons and planets. Children provided a receptive audience to this imaginary yet hopeful view of scientific achievement in the early years of the space race. This is one of the few pop culture lunch boxes from the late 1950s not designed around a television show.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- 1958
- maker
- American Thermos Products Co.
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.06.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.06.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Workman's Domed Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This domed, aluminum lunch box has two metal snaps for a hinged lid and a collapsible black, plastic handle. There is a wire bail inside for a thermos bottle to fit into the domed lid. The exterior of the lunch box is silver, and is in the old-fashioned “workman” style.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950s
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.09
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.09
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Astronaut Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1969 to take advantage of the excitement over the moon landing. The exterior features images from the Apollo 11 mission, including Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the lunar surface, and the command module’s splashdown. There is an illustrated National Safety Council "Safety First" message printed in black and white on the interior lid, and the bottom features an image of the plaque that was left on the lunar surface.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1969
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.14.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.14.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Astronaut Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic and glass thermos bottle depicts colorful scenes of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon on all exterior surfaces. This bottle is the companion to the Astronaut lunch box, object #2001.3087.14.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1969
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.14.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.14.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Stars and Stripes Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel domed lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1970. The lunch box features a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible blue, plastic handle. The lunch box is decorated with large white stars on a blue lid and red and white vertical stripes on the sides and bottom of the lunch box, evoking the American flag.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- maker
- Aladdin Industries Incorporated
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.17.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.17.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Stars and Stripes Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Aladdin Industries in 19970. The botte has a red plastic, screw-on cup lid and red plastic, screw-on stopper. Large white stars on a blue background and red and white vertical stripes around the sides evoke the American flag. The bottle is a companion to the Stars and Stripes lunch box, object number 2001.3087.17.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- maker
- Aladdin Industries Incorporated
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.17.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.17.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Denim Domed Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin, domed lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1975. The lunch box has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a flexible red plastic handle. The lunch box has the appearance of being made of denim, and a colorful dog and red and white flower patterns are shown on the front of the lunch box.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1975
- maker
- Aladdin Industries
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.22
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.22
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Blue Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made in the 1940s , and has a metal snap for hinged lid and a collapsible silver handle. There is a plain blue and gray design on the exterior.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1940s
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.03
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center