The Stanley Kubrick box

When Stanley Kubrick died, he left behind literally thousands of boxes full of archive material, so much that he became frustrated with the storage boxes available to him. He worked out what he felt was the optimum size for a box in terms of storage space and ease of handling. and consulted with a custom box building company to deliver boxes to his design. He specified that the lids should be “not too tight, not too loose but JUST PERFECT“. According to an internal memo from the box company they noted “fussy customer, make sure the lids slide off properly” during their manufacture.

Apparently, you can still order boxes to Kubrick’s specification from his supplier:

The box in question was produced to the following specification:

Ref: R.278

Type: Brass wire stitched box, full depth lift-off lid (case lid) with triangular lugs.

Composition: 1900 micron (0.080 inch) double sided kraft container board.

Dimensions (internal): 16.1/4 x 11 x 3.3/4 inches (R.278).

Our ex-works prices for a box of this type would be:
10 boxes at £3.40 each
25 boxes at £2.20 each
50 boxes at £1.95 each
Prices are in pounds sterling and exclusive of VAT.

Trading since 1914, we have built an unrivalled reputation as manufacturers of bespoke hand made boxes of the very highest quality, a reputation further enhanced when we were awarded The Royal Warrant.

I very much appreciate your interest in our company and hope that we might be of further assistance.

Regards
Fred Cannon
Sales & Marketing Manager
G Ryder & Co Ltd
Tel: 01908 375524
Fax: 01908 373658

I’m tempted to put an order in myself although I suspect the prices might have gone up a bit.