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Luggage From the Past

Ever wonder about luggage from over a hundred years ago?

Included in the Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History Library are luggage-related catalogs. One of these is the American Box & Trunk Factory Catalogue, a 1906 catalog by the American Box and Trunk Factory.

Shown in the catalog are flat top trunks and barrel top trunks. Canvas covered trunks and metal covered trunks. Fancy trunks and simple trunks. Trunks for women and trunks for men. For each trunk shown, there is an image of it closed and open. Measurements and prices are also provided.

The canvas covered Ladies’ Hat Box included a covered tray and five hat forms. It measured 26 inches and cost $10.

The Slatless Gent’s Trunk which was advertised as “the finest and most compact trunk made for gentlemen” came in two sizes. The 34 inch trunk cost $30 and the 36 inch trunk cost $32. It was covered in heavy fibre and had brass trimmings. Inside there was a tray to store clothing, shoes, and accessories. 

More images from the American Box & Trunk Factory Catalogue can be found on the Galaxy of Images

—Alexia MacClain

Top:  American Box and Trunk Factory, San Francisco, CA.  American Box & Trunk Factory Catalogue, 1906, page 32, slatless Gent’s trunk.

Bottom:  American Box and Trunk Factory, San Francisco, CA.  American Box & Trunk Factory Catalogue, 1906, page 33, open view of slatless Gent’s trunk.

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