lunch boxes in comeback as collectible

Anne Driscoll of the New York Times reports in particular.
1988 this is a digital version of an article from The Times Print Archive, before it starts online in 1996.
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Scott Bruce strolled down the aisle of the Salvation Army thrift store and suddenly found a neglected collection, something with kitsch and nostalgia, not to mention a primary school student, sandwiches and milk: lunch box.
That day, his discovery was a box with Rooney\'s musical cartoon characters from the 1950s S and a box in the 1960s s featuring Jetsons, space family.
\"I am a baby in a baby boom period and I want to find a collection that captures the electronic environment in which we grow,\" he said . \"Bruce, a 33-year-
Old contemporary artist
It took him a year to collect a batch of lunch boxes that now have 1,500 around the country. Mr.
Bruce has written a history called \"lunch boxes at the age of 50 and 60\", which will be published by Chronicle in November. 12.
He created a guide called the official price guide for the lunch box collection, which will be published by the Landon House in February.
He also published a quarterly newsletter called \"blood boiling\" for 300 users.
16 fighter pilots, they\'re 18-
Inch compartment.
Mr. advertising.
Bruce\'s wife is a lawyer who carries a lunch box drawn by Nancy while working at a law firm in Boston. Among Mr.
Bruce\'s collection is our silk and silk box. He said it is worth about $250 and 1965 Beetle kerrdle kit worth about $400, he bought it for $90 from a Soho artist.
He estimated his collection to be worth $75,000.
\"I don\'t buy them anymore, mainly because the price is out of my budget . \"Bruce said.
About 0. 12 billion metal, vinyl, and molded plastic lunch buckets were produced by Aladdin Industries, King Cili thermos, and Ohio arts from 1950s to 1970s.
At that time they sold for $3 to $4. Mr.
When he started collecting, Bruce said, there were only 30 to 40 serious collectors in the country.
There are thousands now.
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For those of you who might laugh at the whimsical metal or plastic that is worthless in the lunch box, Sir
Bruce says they are a valuable window for pop culture.
\"For example,\" he said, \"when you were in your early 50 s, Tom Colbert\'s space student, you projected the Cold War into space, and the young American space student colonised in space, it\'s like an endless backyard.
This began to change in 1960s.
\"As an artist, Sir.
Bruce is particularly interested in the artwork on the box.
He said 50,000 pure red enamel lunch boxes were sold in 1949.
In the second year, horparon Cassidy joined a decalcomania, making the model the first box of licensed TV characters.
The demand was high and 500,000 pounds were sold.
By 1953, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans appeared on the first fully printed metal lunch box.
Two and a half million boxes were sold. Among Mr.
Bruce\'s favorite lunch box artist is Robert Burton, a commercial artist who designed the pirate lunch bucket and included his profile on several coins above the pirate ship
\"Between the bottle and the brown bag, you are not the person driving, but the things you carry with you, whether it\'s the Beatles box or the Barbie doll,\" he said . \"Bruce.
A version of the article appears on page 1001060 of the national edition of November 6, 1988, titled: lunch boxes that come back as collections.