THE FINE ART OF LIVING

The Ritz, the Orient Express, the great ocean-going liners, the “Golden Twenties” – these are the images conjured up by an exquisitely fashioned period suitcase and the “high society” aura it exudes. It is an object that awakens memories of the great age of travel and intimations of what life was like in bygone days.

Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway, the Kennedy family, tout Hollywood – they all travelled with vast amounts of luggage. We need only recall the stylish writing desk Theodore Roosevelt, the later American president, took with him on his frequent travels to Europe and Egypt, or the complete sets of travel ware Russian aristocrats had with them when they journeyed to Europe with their entourages to take the waters, pursue their pleasures, or gamble away huge sums of money at the casinos. Such personal effects are a living reminder of time past. Once discovered, the fascination of these magnificent tokens of life in a bygone age is something that lives on permanently.

Alongside their intrinsic value as collector’s items, these pieces are also an excellent investment. Good to know in times of financial turmoil!

In the last few years, prices have been soaring on the market for historical travel ware. Today many people prefer to invest in rare, vintage items of this kind than to risk their money on shares or funds. Well-preserved examples regularly fetch top prices at major auctions organized by Sotheby’s or Christie’s and have thus become a highly interesting and lucrative source of capital gains.

You don’t have to live out of a suitcase to show that you’re proud of the one you have.

This is what more and more people with a fable for genuine style are actually doing. They are demonstrating their love of the unusual, their “nose” for a good investment, and the pride they take in owning such a rarity. On top of everything else, vintage luggage has an immensely practical role in everyday life too – in up-market interior decoration.

All round the globe, vintage pieces from the “Golden Age of travel” between 1880 and 1940 grace exclusive houses and apartments, yachts and offices as coffee tables and side tables or as functional furniture in cloakrooms, dressing rooms, and bedrooms.

Today, as before, a suitcase, a trunk, or a set of luggage by Louis Vuitton, Hermès, or Goyard stands for supreme standards of craftsmanship and quality, indicating that nothing but the best is good enough for its owner.