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 9 items.
Hee Haw Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1970. The lunch box has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible red, plastic handle. The exterior features images from the country variety television show Hee Haw, on the lid, back and sides. Hee Haw ran from 1969-1992, with the first two years on CBS, and the rest in syndication.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.04
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1973. The lunch box features the cartoon characters of the television show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, on all sides of the lunch box. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated series created by Bill Cosby that ran from 1972-1985 on CBS.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.03.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.03.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Brave Eagle Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1957. This lunch box features images from the television show Brave Eagle. The sides feature colorful depictions of Indians hunting buffalo and in combat with each other. Brave Eagle was a short-lived TV series, airing one season in 1955-1956 on CBS. The show was notable because its main protagonist was Native American, and featured scenes of the West from the Native American point of view.
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.06.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.06.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Brave Eagle Thermos Bottle
- Description (Brief)
- This bottle was made by Thermos in 1957, and features colorful scenes of Indians on horseback hunting buffalo from the television series Brave Eagle. The bottle has a red plastic cup lid, red stopper and glass liner. The bottle is the companion to the Brave Eagle Lunch Box, object number 2004.3009.05.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.06.02
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.06.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Happy Days Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1976. The lunch box features the character of Arthur Fonzarelli, the “Fonz” from the television show Happy Days posing by his motorcycle on the front lid. Happy Days ran from 1974-1984 on ABC, with the Fonz as its breakout star. The Fonz became a cultural touchstone, with his trademark “Aaay!” and the turn of phrase “jumping the shark,” entering into the American lexicon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1976
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.07.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.07.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bobby Sherman Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunchbox was manufactured by Thermos in 1972. The lunch box has a color photo illustration of Bobby Sherman on the front and a biography on the back. This lunch box is an interesting example of marketing a teenage heartthrob to young girls. The lunch box is covered with hearts, and Bobby’s vital stats are listed so his adoring fans could get to know him better.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1972
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.08
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.08
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fireball XL5 Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1964. It features images from the television show Fireball XL5, which ran on NBC from 1963-1965. Fireball XL5 was filmed used Supermarionation, a combination of animation and puppetry that was made famous by the show’s creators, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Fireball XL5 was another television show that took advantage of the public’s fascination with space, as does this lunch box, with its various images of rockets and space ships.
- Date made
- 1964
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.13.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.13.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lost in Space Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal dome lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1967. This lunch box features images from the television show Lost in Space, which ran from 1965-1968 on CBS. Lost in Space was originally named Space Family Robinson, and was a futuristic take on the Swiss Family Robinson. The box features a colorful scene of the Robinsons in their vehicle, the Chariot, motoring over a beautifully drawn alien landscape and fighting an alien with their laser guns on the sides.
- Date made
- 1967
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.19.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.19.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Looney Tunes Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1959. The front and back of the box is actually a styled as a television set, with Looney Tunes characters pictured inside the set. Looney Tunes were originally shorts that ran before feature films from 1930-1969, but have since been repackaged into a variety of television shows. Looney Tunes has given us some of cartoons most iconic characters, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
- Date made
- 1959
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.05.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.05.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center