Username: @retro_crusty
Item Name: KOEUB & CHIROL Lunchbox – Manufactured circa 1927
Estimated Production Date: 1927
Contributor’s Notes:
Found this while urban exploring an abandoned factory last weekend. The place was completely falling apart, but in one of the backrooms, sitting on a wooden pallet, was this rusted old lunchbox. Judging by how it looked, I’m pretty sure it belonged to one of the factory workers back in the day. The crazy part? When I opened it, there was an apple inside. I’m not kidding—probably a 100-year-old apple, shriveled up but still recognizable. Gave me a good laugh and a bit of a shiver.
Administrator's Note:
This KOEUB & CHIROL Lunchbox, produced around 1927, represents one of the earliest examples of character-branded personal items aimed at working-class consumers. Unlike the more decorative home goods, these lunchboxes were utilitarian items, designed for daily use by employees and factory workers.
The heavy rust and wear visible on the surface suggest years of use, and the fact that it remained in an abandoned facility adds an eerie charm to its story. The contributor’s anecdote about the century-old apple is both amusing and haunting, perfectly encapsulating how objects like this carry silent witnesses of forgotten lives.
The illustration style on the box, featuring both KOEUB and CHIROL in their earliest design iterations, aligns with promotional artwork from B&C Studio’s first merchandising wave. Despite its worn state, this lunchbox is a priceless piece of cultural history—its very existence speaks to the way these characters transcended the screen and became part of everyday life.
