The history of the suitcase: the accessory that has determined the way of life of rich and poor

  1. Ignatius Vassal

The trip and the suitcase are united. The most frequent expression before starting a trip is have you packed your suitcase? Of course, the concept of suitcase has been changing over the centuries. Today it is even possible to travel without packing, like the thousands of professionals who go and return every day by plane or by Ave from Barcelona to Madrid, to give an example.  La historia de la maleta: el accesorio que ha determinado la forma de vida de ricos y pobres  La historia de la maleta: el accesorio que ha determinado la forma de vida de ricos y pobres

Also read: The story of Le Touquet, the luxurious refuge where the main house of the Macrons is hidden

The suitcase is present in the collective memory , for better, the memory of a vacation, or for worse, like forgetting the photos of the Jewish families in Germany waiting to be transferred to the extermination camps, with their small suitcases, or those of the defeated republicans on their way to the French border at the end of the civil war with their cardboard suitcases on their shoulders.

The suitcase lives in literature, in theater and cinema, in music: Luis Fonsi with "The Heart in the Suitcase" and it even became an apology for Gómez de la Serna: "The suitcase conferences", by the who took out the most varied objects that created the reason for his talk.

Throughout history, the suitcase has evolved as a result of technological and social changes. The favored classes , the only ones that until recently could travel, were the ones that determined the type of suitcase that should accompany the traveler and its size. It grew and grew over the centuries and then shrank as the plane became the dominant mode of transportation, until it practically disappeared, because today the truly rich travel with hand luggage and buy what they need at the destination.

As an author from the beginning of the 20th century said in relation to the passengers of the new transatlantic ships: I don't understand how, if women are increasingly wearing more concise dresses, the trunks have to be bigger. Today I would say: Once you've packed, take half off and be prepared to spend twice as much.

 La historia de la maleta: el accesorio que ha determinado la forma de vida de ricos y pobres

Around 1,500 BC, the Egyptians, of course the powerful ones, used chests and trunks made of wood covered with leather smeared with animal fat. They were heavy but the owner did not carry them. Those who did not have slaves used the skin of a sewn animal, sheepskin when thrown over the shoulders or saddlebags when carried by the cavalry.

The women began to use the bag, or the bag, which was adorned according to resources. The poor were satisfied with the bundle.

The Greeks weren't much given to suitcases because they didn't travel much - travel has been dangerous until recently - and when Alexander's soldiers began to do so, they relied on surviving on the resources of the conquered lands.

Some Romans, on the contrary, did not stop traveling, especially the legions. Each legionnaire had to carry the "sarciba" backpack with his personal belongings and the necessary provisions to stay for a couple of weeks.

The privileged, when they moved to their residences in the countryside or on the coast, continued to use the trunks. They did not care about size and weight either.

In the Middle Ages, the aristocracy and later, the incipient bourgeoisie, continued to use heavy wooden trunks carried by servants , but some humble people began to move despite the insecurity of the roads. Pilgrims crossed all of Europe on foot, so lighter luggage such as deerskin bags was needed.

Already then the luxury industry began and wealthy ladies became fond of silk bags with laces sometimes embroidered in gold, a classic of feudalism.

Things did not change much in the following centuries. With the Grand Tour, the English gentlemen traveled to the continent with large trunks, some furniture and those who could with servants, a tutor and mercenaries to defend themselves during the trip. From that time are the wooden suitcases, similar to the current ones.

With the popularization of the railway, especially in Great Britain, the suitcase was reduced to be able to be transported on it, although the weight did not matter so much due to the existence of porters at all stations. But the suitcase was still a luxury item. You only have to look at the images of European emigrants arriving by boat to the United States to verify that very few of them carry suitcases.

The suitcases are reduced even more with the use of the private car as a means of transport and above all they begin to be manufactured in different sizes to meet the incipient family tourism.

In the Second World War, the zipper was invented and applied immediately to suitcases , which due to the needs of air travel became lighter and better designed with materials such as fiber and plastic.

But the revolution did not come until the seventies when the American pilot Bernard D Show managed to market the suitcase with wheels. There had been patents since the 1920s, but they had had little acceptance. First it was dragged with a tape and then with the vertical stick that is currently used.

The new trend had devastating effects on the luxury industry as some of its fetish objects such as Louis Vuitton suitcases or trunks, for example, suffered the consequences of the democratization of travel.

The suitcase with wheels is a consequence of the predominance of the plane in not only professional but also tourist trips, of the long corridors in the new airports and above all of the growing economic and social independence of women who begin to travel alone and do not want to carry excessive weight.

With the rise of low-cost companies and their pricing policy, the size and weight of suitcases are reducing and the backpacks with which even the elderly travel today take center stage. The suitcase, so important in our culture, is already a residue of past times.

The voyages of the tuna: main characteristics, history and figures of this historic fish

Related

comments0WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedin