Bottle, Insulated, "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet"

This insulated bottle was a part of an Aladdin Industries lunch box kit from 1952 featuring the space hero character "Tom Corbett: Space Cadet," made famous from his appearances in daily and Sunday comic strips, radio broadcasts, and television programs. The illustrations on the bottle were drawn by Robert O. Burton, the head of Aladdin's art department. This set was only the second television character lunchbox kit ever manufactured (two years after the first, a Hopalong Cassidy kit also made by Aladdin Industries). In 1952, Aladdin was pioneering the rectangular metal character lunchbox kit, a favorite with children and a booming new commercial market that Aladdin would later split with its chief competitor, American (later, King Seeley) Thermos. Notice that this bottle is a metal and glass insulated bottle with a cork stopper, but not a vacuum or thermos bottle with an airtight sealing cap.

The insulated bottle and its matching lunchbox were given to the Museum by Aladdin Industries in 2008.