When Superman Went To School
I’ve just stumbled on my favourite quirky museum so far – it’s dedicated to lunchboxes.
This is how it introduces itself on its website (http://cwpsecure.com/lunchbox/index2.html):
“You remember it well, that rectangular metallic friend, bearing the image of your favorite teen idol, sports star, cartoon character. It swung daily at your side, filled with tuna sandwiches, tomato soup and browning banana from home. Your lunch box: faithful childhood companion, deserving of a place in your personal history.”
The shrine to the humble lunchbox can be found above a country music radio station in Columbus, Georgia – both are run by Allen Woodall.
Of the thousands he’s collected over many years, his favourites are the early metal ones (the industry went plastic in 1986). There’s a box with a Hopalong Cassidy motif (circa 1951). Later ones featured such current trends as The Osmonds, Flipper, Barbie and Charlie’s Angels.
Cultural historian, David Shayt, says the image pushes so many buttons. “It’s TV, it’s childhood, it’s school, it’s food, it’s mom and above all it’s loss - because so many people lost theirs.”
And for collectors, it’s big business: a few years back, a rectangular 1954 Superman lunchbox sold for more than $13,000 (£6,000).
by Andy Moreton
