"out of/outside the box"

[jester at PANIX.COM]

Despite my remembering a long discussion of the phrase _to think
outside/out of the box_ 'to think creatively' on this list, I can't
seem to find the messages in my mailbox or on the ADS-L archive.  I
recall Dave and Ron making ASCII drawings of the dots on which the
expression is based, so my confusion now is irritating.

Can someone remind me, or supply anew, the earliest few examples
of this phrase, either from this discussion or another one?

Thanks.

Jesse Sheidlower
Oxford English Dictionary
<jester at panix.com>