By foot, horse and car...

by Catherine Örmen

Illustrations Pierre Marie

In a different age, the pilgrim carried a few rags in a bundle of cloth suspended from the end of a wooden stick. The peasant, who had hardly any more clothes to carry, put them in a basket, on an open wagon, or on a yoke on the back of his horse or donkey. However, the conveyance of the elaborate wardrobes of the aristocratic ‘Ancien Régime’ was a little more complicated with carefully stowed trunks and chests piled up on horse-drawn coaches and carriages.
During the nineteeth century transportation developed, and the feminine traveller moved with the times. On long railway journeys and Atlantic crossings the necessity of the cabintrunk meant that ladies abandoned the immense and cumbersome crinolines left over from the Second Empire. To travel serenely, by various forms of horse drawn carriage, the Victoria, Berlina, Coupé or Cabriolet, it was deemed appropriate to adopt the English style and, in particular, the ladies suit, which first appeared in 1885. This attire was accompanied by a cloak lined with otter or vicuna that could, when the occasion demanded, serve as a blanket. “The true meaning of ‘chic’ when travelling is to be comfortable” declared l’Illustration in 1889. The travellers’ guides recommended that you reduce your luggage and the traveller’s bag - a small satchel or case complete with a sliding copper fastener - should contain “only white silk lingerie that can be washed daily and requires no ironing, along with two or three suits, including one sufficiently smart to attend a dinner or an official event. A large cape in light-coloured silk would also be ideal for such an occasion”. In the twentieth century, the automobile continued the trend towards minimal luggage.
The chests attached to the back and top of the vehicle, gradually integrated with the carapace and evolved into bags and suitcases. By the end of the 1914-18 war the car was held accountable for having reduced the elegance of the fashion wardrobe. Women no longer wear extravagant hats, and corsets, crinolene skirts and furbelows have vanished as items of everyday apparel.
Nowadays, we are accustomed to comfort and simplicity, and the traveller’s bag, though it may be a precious reliquary, holds only essential items.

A XVI Century Travelling Trunk.

By Angelica Pediconi

Photo Peter Kelleher/ V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum

When nobles travelled in the Middle Ages, their linen and other valuables were packed in large chests carried on men’s shoulders or on the backs of horses. When Henry the VIII moved from Hampton Court to Whitehall, carts were hired to bring his travelling bags and on their arrival in London a special house was set apart to contain them. Smaller travelling chests at that time were known as ‘trussing coffers’, and for these ‘cuir bouilli’, or boiled ox-hide, was a favourite covering to protect them from rain and damp. The leather, first prepared in oil and spirit, was sometimes incised with a pattern and then painted or gilded. When Queen Elizabeth I moved from one palace to another she was accompanied by 400 to 600 carts laden with chests of this description.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds a fine example of a travelling trunk covered with gilt and stamped leather bearing the Tudor Royal Coat of Arms and cypher E.R., precursor of initials as a decorative element and as a trademark signature. The front panel opens to show the interior, still with its original silk lining. The drawer-fronts are decorated with Tudor Roses within a floral band. Originally the entire outside of the chest was covered with leather, making it waterproof. ‘ER’ probably relates to King Edward VI (1537-1553) because the style of the Arms, the gold tooled ornament and the use of a lozenge within a rectangle resembles bookbinding dating from the reigns of Edward VI and Queen Mary (1516-1558). By the XVIth century the interior of expensive travelling trunks for small objects and documents were fitted with many drawers and trays. Some had a hidden drop front to stealthily provide access to its contents. Others had elaborate key-hole escutcheons as well as locks and iron bands under the base of the coffer, providing extra security for its many travelling secrets.