Dorri Partain
Contributor

If you’re headed to one of our national parks this summer, you’re sure to find a scenic spot perfect for a picnic lunch.

While the wicker picnic hamper remains a classic choice for transporting all your picnic supplies, the plaid metal picnic basket became a popular alternative during the mid-1950’s. Introduced by the Hamilton Sheet Metal Company, the trademarked Skotch Basket was a companion piece to the Skotch Kooler introduced in 1952.

Based in Hamilton, Ohio, the company originally manufactured metal mailboxes and food graters before branching into picnic wares. They hired artist Petra Cabot (1907-2006) to create a stylish graphic to decorate the exterior; the resulting Tartan plaid with leather trim and buckle was not only imprinted onto the cooler but inspired the name, with a slight change in spelling from Scotch to Skotch.

The cooler and basket’s popularity inspired additions to Hamilton’s line of picnic wares to include the Skotch Jug, the portable table top Skotch Grill, and Skotch Ice, reusable metal canisters that could be frozen before placing into the cooler or basket to keep foods cool.

The metal basket had many advantages over the wicker basket. It was sturdier and the lid could be used as a handy tray to hold drinks either on its own or set on top of the basket. The “comfortable handle and smooth round shape – no rough corners” made all the Skotch products easy to carry.

The design soon had many imitators who created similar coolers and baskets with different plaid designs, as shown with this basket from an unknown maker.

Capitalizing on their best-selling products, the company changed their name to Hamilton-Skotch, dropping the notation including metal as more plastic items came into production, but as styles continued to change the trademarked name, design, and company had ceased by 1979.

Today, the classic design lives on with a new company, Skotch Kooler USA, producing new picnic wares based on the original Skotch products.