Aladdin
The lineage of Aladdin thermal mugs goes back over a century. In 1908 a man named Victor Johnson, at that time a soap salesman, began working on an improved model of the popular kerosene lamp that would produce a steady light with a minimal amount of smoke. In 1912 started selling his new lamps through his company, the Mantle Lamp Company of America. He called his lamps “Aladdin” lamps, Aladdin of course being the hero of the Aladdin and the Lamp folk tale.
Johnson’s company was quite successful and in 1917 it started producing insulated cooking dishes, which he called Aladdin Thermalware Jars. These products were also successful and Johnson created a new subsidiary named Aladdin Industries to sell his thermal products (including thermal mugs!). Victor Johnson, Sr. successfully managed the company for over 20 years until his death in 1943. After Victor Johnson Sr. died, his son, Victor Johnson, Jr. became president.
During the late 1940s, Aladdin began producing metal lunchboxes. They licensed popular television and movie characters including Superman, Robin Hood, Zorro and Hopalong Cassidy (which was their first licensed lunch box). Their lunch boxes were hugely popular, and continued through the 1980 and 1990s with Pac-Man, Rugrats, Animaniacs, and many other popular television and popular culture lunch boxes. In fact, a great history of popular culture can be traced through Aladdin lunch boxes over the decades.
Aladdin Industries expanded again in 1965, purchasing the Stanley Bottle company, which complemented their existing products. They also began producing other products such as trays for airlines, schools and hospitals. The company reached its peak in the 1990s and employed over 1100 people. During this period the classic large plastic Aladdin thermal mug became extremely popular and could be found at gas stations and grocery stores throughout America.
In the late 1990s, Aladdin Industries fell on hard times and by 2002 had ceased operations. This wasn’t the end of Aladdin thermal mugs and other Aladdin products though. Pacific Market International bought the Aladdin brand that same year and has carried on the tradition of producing thermal mugs and other Aladdin products.
Aladdin thermal mugs are now available in a wide variety of styles and colors, in both stainless steel and plastic models. Most models from Pacific Market International are updated and have a modern appearance, but if you’re looking for a “classic” Aladdin thermal mug, there are companies that are selling “Aladdin Style” travel mugs, even though they’re not officially an Aladdin product. Some even claim to use the original production molds, but that really can’t be confirmed by the consumer. Still – if you’re looking for a bit of nostalgia in your thermal mug, one of these reproductions may be the only way to go!