Up
until the very end of the 1800s, suitcases, as we know them today, hardly
existed. Before that, those who traveled for any distance lugged along heavy,
bulky trunks built of wood, leather, and often a heavy iron base. The best
trunks were waterproofed with canvas or tree sap, as steamships were a reigning
mode of travel. Without this protection, a suitcase in the hold of a heaving,
leaky ship would probably have been wet within a few hours, and crushed by
sliding trunks within a few more. The closest travel case to what we know today
as a suitcase was the “cabin trunk,” which was designed with a low profile to
fit under a steamship berth. For more about trunks and steamers, see my
previous post by CLICKING HERE
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1911 United Suit Cases
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Early
suitcases were called “suit cases” or “suit-cases” because they were intended
to hold only suits. They were lighter and more portable than trunks, but they
were still bulky by today's standards. 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 mid-20th century, many were
advertised as waterproof. Lightweight models were often marketed specifically
to women.
When
the suitcase finally did catch on at the end of the 19th century, it was quite
literally a case for suits. A typical suitcase came equipped with an inner
sleeve for storing shirts, and sometimes a little hat box on the side. But even
in the early 20th century, the “dress-suit case” was only one of countless
styles of container that travelers could buy, from steamer trunks to club bags
to Eveready portable wardrobes. These were boom times for the baggage business.
The
late 19th century became an era of transition in the history of transportation. Except for
those emigrating—either to relocate to a new country or for employment—traveling
by steamship was not utilized as much. The automobile industry and resulting
travel by car called for smaller forms of luggage. That was in addition to
train travel, which continued to be a major form of travel. It was an age of
mass tourism—people going places to for the sake of travel to see parts of the
world or country that, in previous eras, were not common pursuits.
The
shift was made from bulky, heavy trunks to suitcases – then called “suit-cases”
or “suit cases,” because they were designed to hold suits – accelerated in the
1930s as commercial flights began to replace steamships and trains. But the
early versions, clunky contraptions made of leather and wood, were a far cry
from today’s suitcases.
Jesse Shwayder, born in Black Hawk, Colorado, to Jewish
parents who had emigrated from Poland, started working in his father’s furniture
store since he lacked the funds to attend college.
In 1903, Jesse convinced Isaac to sell the store and open
a luggage shop. Jesse was noticed by one of their suppliers and invited to come
to New York City as a salesman for the Seward Luggage Company—at the time one of the largest manufacturers of
trunks, steamers, and footlockers. In his first year, Jesse Shwayder earned over
$4,000 in commissions – at that time, a vast sum.
On
March 10, 1910, Jesse returned to Denver and opened
his own luggage factory, the Shwayer Trunk Manufacturing Company. His father, Isaac, became his lead salesman. Instead
of competing with low pricing, Isaac insisted
that they make high quality merchandise and price it at the highest price it
would bear in the luxury marketplace.
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1920 Shwayder suitcase
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As
the whole family jumped in to help, the Shwayder
Trunk Manufacturing Company began to grow. Shwayder, a religious man,
named his first suitcases, “Samson,” after the Biblical strongman.
In 1916, the Shwayders took a picture that would become an
advertising coup. Four brothers and their father stood on a plank
positioned atop one of their suitcases with the caption: “Strong enough to stand on.” With five portly Shwayder men weighing more than 1,000 pounds together,
the picture was striking and became their advertising and direct-mail gimmick
for several years.
Unfortunately, in the same year (1916), Isaac Shwayder died
suddenly of a stroke. His wife, and Jesse’s mother, Rachel Shwayder, used her
husband’s life insurance money to build a new and larger factory, which opened
in 1917.
Jesse Shwayder was president of the company from 1910
to 1960. Jesse Shwayder’s official corporate philosophy was
the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have others do to you.” All company officers
and salesmen carried a Golden Marble, which they were
told to take out and look at whenever they had to make an important business
decision. When visiting the family’s factories in later years, Jesse Shwayder would ask to see the Golden Marble. Any
employee who could show it got a one hour paid work-break.
Mark Shwayder became the head of sales.
Sol Shwayder, now a lawyer, became attorney for the firm.
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Vintage Samson luggage
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The
original name of their luggage was Samson, intended to honor the strength
of the biblical hero of the same name. Today, we know their luggage
as Samsonite, the largest manufacturer of luggage in the
world.
I first wrote about travel trunks in Jocelyn's Wedding Dilemma, my
book in The Matchmaker and the Mother-in-Law series. To find the book
description and purchase options for both ebook and paperback, please CLICK HERE
My heroine in Florence's Good
Deed also traveled. Although she only carried a carpetbag, her beautiful cover
shows several examples of early suitcases. To find the book description
and purchase options for both ebook and paperback, please CLICK HERE
Sources:
https://www.jmaw.org/shwayder-jewish-samsonite-denver/
https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/travel-bags/history-of-suitcase
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/the-history-of-luggage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Shwayder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsonite
