Lunchbox and thermos featuring Diahann Carroll from the sitcom Julia: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a lunchbox and thermos set printed with illustrations of actors from the sitcom "Julia" starring Diahann Carroll. The front of the lunchbox, i.e. the lid, has a green border and features the show logo, red block-text outlined in black reading [JULIA] in the top right corner. In the bottom right corner is an illustrated closely framed portrait of Carroll styled as the character Julia; her portrait is superimposed over a background image of two boys seated and reading at a table in an interior space. Repeated illustrated images of the actors from the show appear consistently on each face of the lunchbox. The thermos features a singular image wrapped around the cylinder in which Carroll wears a nurse's uniform and addresses a seated white man. The lunchbox has a green plastic handle. There is some rusting, mostly visible in the interior, and some chipping in the ink of the images, mostly visible on the exterior.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1969
• Manufactured by: Thermos LLC, American, founded 1904
• Designed by: Nick LoBianco, American
• Subject of: Diahann Carroll, American, 1935 - 2019
• Subject of: Betty Beaird, American, born 1935
• Subject of: Marc Copage, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Michael Link, American, born 1962
• Type: lunchboxes
• Type: canteens (vessels)
• Medium: metal, plastic
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2013.108.13a Lunchbox Closed): 7 3/4 × 8 3/4 × 4 in. (19.7 × 22.2 × 10.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2013.108.13a Lunchbox Open): 4 1/16 × 8 13/16 × 14 11/16 in. (10.3 × 22.4 × 37.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2013.108.13b Thermos): 6 5/8 × 4 × 3 3/16 in. (16.8 × 10.2 × 8.1 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Cooking and dining
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Medicine
• Topic: Motherhood
• Topic: Nursing
• Object number: 2013.108.13ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © 1969 Savannah Productions. Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.