Hey! That's my luggage!

At one time luggage was more distinct. It was as fashionable to have stylish luggage as it was to have fashionable clothing.

Some people had their luggage monogrammed. I preferred to use the luggage tag that came with it.

Look at all of the colors and styles shown here.

For my high school graduation gift, my Mother gave me a set of Samsonite luggage. I would be going off to college and out into the brave, new world of work after college graduation so I'd need something to pack all of my worldly belongings as I navigated the workforce. ( I wonder if she was trying to give me a hint?????)I had a set of luggage similar to the one below.

As you can see, luggage was a lot more luxurious than it is now. Satin quilted insides with elasticized satin pockets. Some had straps inside to keep the clothing in place to try to avoid wrinkling.
I still have the luggage Mama gave me. My set contained three pieces. The largest piece was a Pullman.

(as in Pullman porter).

The next size I had was a Jr. Pullman. It was a little smaller than the Pullman.

Often the different styles had names. For instance this style is Lady Baltimore.

The last piece was a train case. Before flying became the norm the train was considered the best way to travel. The Hummingbird was supposed to be "THE" train car to travel on because it was so000000 fast. I fell for that when I was a kid. Thinking back, the Hummingbird couldn't go any faster than the rest of the cars. It was all attached to the engine. It still took us two day to get from Birmingham to Detroit.

Before you allow your imagination to go wild...YES!! THERE WERE AIRPLANES WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

It's just that airplane trips were expensive and mostly the well-to-do flew.

The train case was the same as carry on luggage. As you can see it has a mirror. It's pretty deep so it could hold a change of underwear, toiletries, etc. There's also a removable 3 compartment tray that goes inside for makeup or whatever. I still have the tray. I use it inside my dresser.

At one time I'd thought about getting rid of this luggage but, because of sentimental reasons I couldn't bear to part with it. I now use it to store fabrics and out of season clothes . As you can see it's pretty sturdy and still in good shape. I continued to use this luggage for some time but eventually stopped because it is heavy, has no wheels or handle and I've lost the keys.

That's when I began using the standard black canvas luggage that most people use. I never put anything of real value inside since luggage is often rifled through by unscrupulous baggage handlers.
Still after arriving at a destination it's sometimes difficult to tell which luggage is yours since most times they all look alike.

I decided that I was going to paint a scene of some type on mine so when it came off of the bus, train, plane, I'd know right away it was mine.

This is a scene I drew on a napkin one day when I was waiting to be seen by a health professional.

***

Someone had laminating film that couldn't be reused so I decided to make a template to use. That's it below.

Later I decided that the scene I'd sketched was too detailed, so I'd not put everything I had in my sketch. Once I get it finished, I'll show it to you, Good or bad.

THAT'S IT***