This is a vintage TruAde picnic cooler in original, un-restored condition. TruAde was a non-carbonated fruit drink available in orange, grape, grapefruit and chocolate, as well as other flavors. The TruAde company was based in Chicago, Illinois, but the drink was bottled in Washington D.C. Although it was very popular, the drink disappeared about [...]

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This is an Atlas 18 Picnic Cooler that was manufactured for the Royal Crown Company Inc. by the Atlas Tool & Manufacturing Company of Missouri. We restored this cooler some years ago at Vintage Vending. It is embossed with the Royal Crown Cola logo and painted in the Royal Crown colors. This model was manufactured [...]

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This 1950s picnic cooler was manufactured by the Progress Refrigerator Company of Louisville, Kentucky. It has been restored and painted with the colors and graphics for the Hancock Oil Company of California.

This picnic cooler has an enameled steel exterior as well as a galvanized liner. On the interior there would have been a [...]

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These photos are of a restored Universal Container built for a 7-bottle capacity. These were made between the 1940s and the 1950s. The soda bottles were cooled by being surrounded with crushed ice. These picnic coolers were painted a mint green by the manufacturer.

The Universal Cooler Corporation was a division of the International Detrola [...]

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This picnic cooler for Dr. Pepper was manufactured, we believe by Progress. It appears to be a rare example, since we’ve been unable to locate any in reference books or online. If you can share anything about this cooler, please add your comments.
The slogan, “Good For Life” appears on the front of the cooler and [...]

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This is a little German Coca-Cola picnic cooler that we restored. It was small—about the size of a Progress airline cooler and able to hold about 6 bottles. Unlike the Progress cooler, the lid comes completely off and there are no hinges. “Trink Eiskalt” translates as you might guess, to “Drink Cold”. We’re unsure of [...]

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