Wednesday, June 20, 2012

COLLECTION #256: Vintage Lunch Pail



Generally my Wednesday 'orphan' posts feature something precious, rare, unique, or particularly valuable to me. I've used these Orphan Wednesdays to share my antique Singer sewing machine, a one-of-a-kind Craftsman sideboard, a 125-year old crazy quilt piece, a post-Civil War patent model, and other like treasures. So, here I am today, sharing a funky 1940s-era Handy Andy lunchbox. A humble blue lunchbox, that was probably carried by a housepainter or contractor. Tiny flecks of white paint indicate that perhaps this lunch pail sat near a new house being built, or in a room freshly painted. I like to imagine the painter's wife, packing him a hearty lunch to take to the work site every day.



The reason that I think it's worthy of sharing with you today, is because of sentimental value. I picked this little gem up many years ago, when I was a student at Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in the early 1970s. I probably bought it at one of Provo's many thrift stores, I don't remember which. But it looked to be the perfect box to keep my art supplies, and as an avid 'junker', it suited my artistic and rustic sensibilities. I carried it through many classes: painting, drawing, figure drawing, print making. I carried in it drawing pencils, technical drawing pens, bottles of india ink and Dr. Martin dyes. At one time I had a bottle of magenta glass paint, which spilled inside, forever adhering one of my Koh-i-Noor rapidograph pen nib keys to the inside of the lid. Of course, being a child of the '60s, I attached a Chiquita Banana sticker to the outside.

So, just for old time's sake, I share my old blue lunch pail with you.

You can see the remnants of the glass paint, and the pen nib key stuck in the lid



Me, the art student, during my blue lunchbox years!

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