Briefcases

[Matt Deckard]

 

[AlanC]

Brooks Bros top frame briefcase

I just picked this 'Made in England' for Brooks Brothers top frame briefcase:

I treated it with moisturizer and polished it, and the leather is richer than in that picture. Still, it's a little beat up, but the integrity of the construction is fine. It gives it a nice lived-in look.

I wondered if anyone had any idea how old it might be. In recent years Brooks has used the Peal & Co. name on not only its shoes, but also very often its made in England briefcases, too. This one is marked 'Made in England' but without the Peal name:

Compare to this modern Brooks case (~10 years old):

The same modern Peal top frame:

I believe Brooks gained rights to the Peal name in the '50s. Of course, they may not have applied it to non-shoe leathergoods until later. Could this be a '50s vintage case?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Hard to tell as many of the briefcase designs are repeated. repeating them is also a good thing as a classic is always a classic.

Usually when the gold leaf is embossed it tends to be an older case and if the gold leaf is just sitting on the surface it tends to be newer... at least that is what I have seen in regards to gold leafing over the years.

Tequiniques were a bit different back then when it came to branding items. This holds true as well for hat sweatbands as well.

Older hats tend to have the initials embossed in gold while newer hats have the gold leaf sitting on an unindented surface. Newer gold leafing tends to rub off easily.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

It is a beautiful bag, AlanC. I like how the lines of the handles extend to the bottom for added support. It may need a little leather conditioner, like Pecard, to put some moisture back in judging by the wrinkles on the clasp.

Boy though, that is a beauty. I would be proud to carry that to the office.

 

[AlanC]

Thanks for the kind words. I applied Obenauf's LP Boot Oil to it and let it soak overnight. Then I polished it with burgundy shoe polish.

I actually won that case 'accidentally'. I had been watching it mainly to see how high it would go. Just a few hours before the end of the auction there were no bids so I threw in a very low bid, maybe $5 more than minimum knowing I would be outbid shortly. Lo and behold no one else ever bid on it! Oh well--I'll suffer through.

 

[ProperRogue]

Custom Hide 1945 US Army Laptop Briefcase

Hello,

I just put one if the classifieds if anyone is interested.

Cheers,

PR

 

[BrianDewey]

Not really golden era, but: Has anyone else discovered Saddleback Leather?

Ever since reading Alan Furst's Dark Star, I've wanted a leather briefcase with a false bottom that can be used to smuggle secret documents through occupied countries in WWII.

I recently discovered Saddleback Leather (http://www.saddlebackleather.com). The products don't pretend to be vintage or vintage-inspired, but the briefcase caught my eye for its no-frills design. And guess what? It has a false bottom! I'm all set to slip through occupied countries. I bought one about a month ago, and I'm really happy with it. Like the website suggests, it's built like a tank.

Here's a picture of mine:



(Dave from Saddleback has used this photo on the "customer" section of his website, but I'm in no way affiliated with the company, nor have I received any compensation for the photo. I'm just a happy customer with a product that I bet more loungers would like.)

 

[skbellis]

very nice...

Brian,

Nice products! I never saw their website before. Beautiful suitcases. For very nice Briefcases you might also want to check Custom Hide ( http://www.customhide.com/ ). I have their reproduction 1945 U.S. Army Briefcase and I am very happy with it. All of their products are hand made in the USA and their prices aren't too bad.

Cheers,

---Scott

 

[1911 Man]

Wow,
I am stunned at how beautiful those saddleback leather briefcases are. Now I know what to ask my wife for this Christmas.

 

[mwelch8404]

Brian,

Nice products! I never saw their website before. Beautiful suitcases. For very nice Briefcases you might also want to check Custom Hide ( http://www.customhide.com/ ). I have their reproduction 1945 U.S. Army Briefcase and I am very happy with it. All of their products are hand made in the USA and their prices aren't too bad.

Cheers,

---Scott

I have their Scholar 4 compartment in whiskey. Very nice. Only about 8 months so far, so I still need to see how well it holds up though.

 

[Fantômas]

I found these some time back and have been lusting ever since. Saddleback has an active eBay store as well:

http://stores.ebay.com/Saddleback-Leather-Company/Suitcases-And-Luggage.html

The suitcases (three sizes) and valises/luggage are all amazingly well made and I would posit that they ARE golden age -- not steamer trunks of course -- but absolutely top-notch adventure gear for the gentleman.

These suitcases and bags will last more than a few lifetimes and will look better with each year of wear and tear.

I'm planning on the black set and have been assured that the patina will be an improvement even though they won't be the natural leather (that patinas amazingly well).

 

[Weston]

Now I know why Saddleback has a sales pitch instead of a price list when you hit products! I'm very impressed with what they put together, and I'm sure its top notch. But for $1500 for a SUITCASE, I could buy a vintage suitcase every time I travelled, throw it away at the end, and still have money for a decent meal and a tip for the valet. I'd love it, but no thanks. Too rich for my blood.

Great cases though, if the green stuff is weighing you down too much.

 

[Wyoming Jade]

I love this bag!

I just got my first Saddleback Leather Company briefcase and I think it is the greatest utility bag/case I've ever seen! Many thanks Dewey for introducing me to this high quality item!

 

[RockBottom]

I have their Scholar 4 compartment in whiskey. Very nice. Only about 8 months so far, so I still need to see how well it holds up though.

I have the scholar with pockets in brown. Love the construction but not crazy about the color. Doesn't look anything like the pictures on their web. If I had it to do over, I'd go with whiskey. I looked long and hard at the Saddleback, but decided it wasn't worth nearly twice as much as the Customhide.

 

[Twitch]

Now if I just had a pair of those I could ride off into the sunset on old Paint

 

[BrianDewey]

Wyoming Jade -- you're welcome

I've been using my bag daily for several months yet, and I still love it (although I still haven't had to stick any secret papers in the false bottom). I think this is the longest I've had "new gear" infatuation.

I've been lucky, too: The photo I originally posted was one of the winners in Saddleback's first photo contest, and I won a free bag. I gave the new one to my brother, and he's similarly in love. The bags are well built, and I find the medium briefcase surprisingly easy to carry given the bag's size and weight. (It's substantially bigger / heavier than the Tom Bihn bags I'd been using previously.)

 

[RockBottom]

Wyoming Jade -- you're welcome

I've been using my bag daily for several months yet, and I still love it (although I still haven't had to stick any secret papers in the false bottom). I think this is the longest I've had "new gear" infatuation.

I've been lucky, too: The photo I originally posted was one of the winners in Saddleback's first photo contest, and I won a free bag. I gave the new one to my brother, and he's similarly in love. The bags are well built, and I find the medium briefcase surprisingly easy to carry given the bag's size and weight. (It's substantially bigger / heavier than the Tom Bihn bags I'd been using previously.)

That was a great photo. Can you give the specs on it? Equipment, light source?

 

[RockBottom]

Better picture of the Custom Hide case.

 

[BrianDewey]

Sure. The light source is the easy part -- the only light in the picture is the fire in the fireplace, which I think is why the photo turned out so interesting.

I have a Canon 5D, and I took this picture with a 24-105 lens at 55mm, f/4. It was an 8 second exposure at ISO 100. I cropped the picture to 16:9 (like a widescreen TV). I like the widescreen look, and with this photo it let me get the fireplace and bag without too much distracting detail at the top & bottom. Aside from cropping the picture, I didn't do anything else with the computer.

Thanks for asking!

 

[RockBottom]

Sure. The light source is the easy part -- the only light in the picture is the fire in the fireplace, which I think is why the photo turned out so interesting.

I have a Canon 5D, and I took this picture with a 24-105 lens at 55mm, f/4. It was an 8 second exposure at ISO 100. I cropped the picture to 16:9 (like a widescreen TV). I like the widescreen look, and with this photo it let me get the fireplace and bag without too much distracting detail at the top & bottom. Aside from cropping the picture, I didn't do anything else with the computer.

Thanks for asking!

Nice. I might try that with my fireplace tonight. I shoot a Nikon D70. I've become partial to Photoshopping the snot out of my stuff though.