Remember how much we loved fun vintage Thermos vacuum bottles in the 50s, 60s & 70s?

Vintage Thermos lunchboxes

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Remember the charm of vintage Thermos vacuum bottles?

Thermos vacuum bottles — also known as vacuum flasks or insulated bottles — have been a popular way to keep beverages hot or cold for many decades. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and can be used to hold coffee, tea — even soup — as well as  water, juice and other cold drinks.

The first vacuum bottle was invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, but it was the Thermos company that really made them popular. In fact, the company’s name became so synonymous with vacuum bottles that people started calling all vacuum bottles “thermoses.”

Here we’ve collected some vintage Thermos ads from the 1950s, 60s and 70s featuring designs so iconic (and collectible to this day), you might find the ones you used to have! 

Gene Autry lunch kit with thermos bottle (1954)

Gene Autry lunch kit (1954)


Polly Red-Top metal thermos (1954)

Polly Red-Top metal thermos (1954)


1950s Aladdin lunchbox and thermoses from (1955)

1950s Aladdin lunchbox and thermoes from (1955)


Good, home-prepared meals in a Thermos school lunch kit (1957)

Your child’s most important school supply

Only when you prepare the lunch yourself are you sure your youngster is getting the proper, balanced nourishment so necessary during busy school days. And only when you pack it in a Thermos vacuum bottle (for liquids) or extra-wide mouth food jar (for liquids or solid foods) can you be certain it will stay piping hot or cold … just the way it left your kitchen.

FREE School Lunch Menu Booklet included with every Thermos, School Lunch Kit. Booklet contains twenty simple, well-balanced lunch menus for growing children.

The American Thermos Products Company

Home-prepared meals in a Thermos school lunch kit (1957)

A vintage Thermos school lunch kit

These colorful designs will make a big hit with your boy or girl

New Pressure Seal Polly Red Top Stopper Nov on all 10 oz. vacuum bottles manufactured by Thermos, this new stopper is may for tiny fingers to remove and replace.

There are many brands of vacuum ware …the best known and most used bear the name Thermos.


Vintage thermos bottle: Everyone loves Mickey! (1971)

Featuring the world’s all-time, best-loved superstar. The “Old Mickey” is brought to life on a fun thermos bottle that cuts straight across the generation gap. For all your customers, of all ages, all year ’round. Go get ’em — with Mickey!

1971 Mickey Mouse thermos


Various thermoses, lunch box kits, and water cooler in orange, plain steel, and green.

Vintage Thermos gifts from the 1950s (1)


More orange thermoses, heavy duty dark green lunch box, and steel / clear pitcher and cups set.

Vintage Thermos gifts from the 1950s (2)


More fun and fashionable styles of vintage thermos and lunch box sets, themed with western, colorful herringbone, and a classy purse styled in red plaid.

Vintage Thermos gifts from the 1950s (3)


Various Aladdin lunch boxes and vintage thermos

Aladdin school lunch kits and matching vacuum bottles — featuring Disney characters, Huckleberry Hound and friends, and the Rifleman!

Vintage Aladdin school lunch kits and matching vacuum bottles


Only Aladdin makes a thermos bottle for children (1973)

Nothing keeps things as hot or cold as a glass vacuum insulated container… in other words, a thermos bottle! Foam insulated bottles are not thermos bottles, not even when they bear the Thermos brand name.

This year, more than ever, it makes good sense to insist on an Aladdin school lunch kit for your child. They’re the only lunch kits being made today that contain thermos bottles.

Not only that — Aladdin’s Safety-Sealed thermos has an exclusive wide-mouth that lets kids take hot nourishing home cooking to school. You can break the monotony of the daily sandwich routine with good hot stew, soup, spaghetti, etc. And using leftovers saves money, too.

For your child’s sake, be sure it’s an Aladdin.

Aladdin thermos for kids (1973)


Thermos brings you the shatterproof lunch bottle for kids. (1973)

Thermos has just ended a shattering experience for your child, and a costly replacement problem for you.

This virtually unbreakable new bottle is now available in Thermos school lunch kits. It’s completely safe and will never shatter because it contains no glass. Yet it keeps milk cold (or cocoa hot) all morning, because it’s insulated with a highly efficient urethane specially chosen by Thermos — the people who know more than anybody about keeping things hot or cold.

This bottle gives you other advantages, too: there’s an inside stopper that prevents spilling while the top is being unscrewed. And the cup has a real handle your child can get a grip on.

Look for Thermos school lunch kits the only ones with The Roughnecks — the amazing bottles that are tougher than kids.

Peanuts thermos and lunch box (1973)


Vintage Thermos lunchboxes (1977)

Aaaaay! Free stuff from Thermos. And a new gang of lunch kits, too.

Your kids will go bananas over our new bunch of lunch kits. There’s “The Fonz.” King Kong. Snoopy. Rocky Roughneck. And more. Each comes with our kid-tough Roughneck bottle.

And in special displays, they come with coupons for Crunchola Bars, Jif Peanut Butter, Chocolate Flavor PDQ, Flintstones Vitamins, Hunt’s Snack-Pack Puddings, a lunchbox recipe book and a monster of a poster, too. Whew!

Vintage Thermos lunchboxes (1977)


Vintage Thermos plastic lunchboxes for kids (1982)

Thermos plain lunchboxes for kids (1982)

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Comments on this story

2 Responses

  1. In elementary school in the ’70s, everybody had a metal lunchbox/Thermos set (“Thermos” has become a genercized trademark, like Kleenex and Velcro). They were great, except for the fact that the Thermoses were lined with glass. If they fell the wrong way, they would shatter — leading to a huge mess. Fortunately, modern thermal containers are made of less delicate material.

  2. I have a Raggady Ann and Alladin Thermo Bottle; plus Walt Disney Alladin Thermo Bottle; and a Pac Man Alladin Alladin Thermo Bottle. I left off Andy. after Raggaday Ann. Do they have sny antique value?

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