So convenient, they're an unremarkable essential for today's traveler. But in , Bernard Sadow had trouble selling his rolling suitcase idea. Sadow, 85, was inspired 40 years ago as he was going through customs at an airport in Puerto Rico, on the way back from Aruba with his wife and kids. He was wrestling with two large, tightly packed inch suitcases, without a porter in sight, when he spotted a man moving a piece of machinery on a wheeled platform.
We need wheels on luggage. Sadow was in the luggage business and is the former president and owner of U. Vuitton is credited with creating the first slatted trunk that would become ubiquitous with train travel of the 19th century. The brand also built its reputation around the strength of its luggage locks, and Vuitton even publicly challenged magician Harry Houdini to attempt to break out of one of his locks in Houdini reportedly did not respond.
As industrialization, steamer travel and ever-widening railroads stretched from the 19th into the 20th century, more people than ever could travel. And trunk-makers rushed to outfit this new generation of travelers. The brothers opened shop in manufacturing trunks as the Shwayder Brothers. That company would become known as Samsonite. Since then, the company has pioneered many of the innovations in luggage throughout the 20th century, spearheading the charge to use materials such as vulcanized fiber and polypropylene.
The dawn of air travel ushered in a new era of innovation in luggage. As people worldwide took to the skies commercially in the late s , travelers required suitcases that could fit in overhead compartments or be safely lugged around an airport. Synthetic materials became increasingly popular, as did plastic handles specifically, according to a report in the Smithsonian magazine in Suitcases began as an afterthought in the luggage and leather goods business, but they soon became the very symbol of travel.
In a T. In a United Company catalog, however, around 40 percent of the advertisements were for suitcases. It's worth pointing out that these catalogs were from North America, where migration required people—and not just the wealthy—to carry their own belongings far and often.
Leather, wicker or thick rubbery cloth was stretched over a rigid wood or steel frame. Corners were rounded out using brass or leather caps. Such suitcases tended to have roughly the proportions of a hardback book: flattened and easy to carry, with a handle on the long side. Until steamship travel declined during the midth century, many were advertised as waterproof.
Lightweight models were often marketed specifically to women. As trunks went out of style, suitcases took on not just practical but also cultural significance. By the s, suitcases featured in books such as The Hardy Boys and such films as The Woman in the Suitcase , as a literary symbol for both mobility and mystery—perhaps filled with gold, photographs, or simply a stranger's possessions.
Suitcases still had a ways to go before achieving their present form, though. With the rapid expansion in automobile travel during in the s, and a more gradual expansion of air travel a couple decades later, suitcases found new applications but also new kinds of competition. Think back now to the suitcases you can buy today. Many feature large pieces of rounded hard plastic a practice which seems to have started in the s , or are built with synthetic fabrics stretched over minimalist alloy frames.
Zippers have largely replaced clasps, and few suitcases are specifically waterproof. Initially, Plath sold his rolling suitcases to fellow flight crews, but as soon as airport travelers spied the new suitcases, they clamored to have them. Plath gave up flying and started the company Travelpro International, which made the wildly popular Rollaboard suitcase.
Today, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is a proponent of one trendy wheeled luggage brand Away, and she gifted suitcases to attendees of her baby shower in February Everything you need to go everywhere. We designed each piece of the travel uniform to make your trip more seamless—together or all on their own. By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time. By Marcia Wendorf. The first wheeled suitcase , The inventor Alfred Joseph Krupa 1 , 2.
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