Gladstone bag

In the late 19th century, the hinged luggage we now take for granted was first developed. As it came to be known, the Gladstone bag was a small portmanteau built over a rigid frame which could separate into two equal sections. It was made of stiff leather and often belted with lanyards. It was given its name after William E. Gladstone (1809-1898), the four-times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who was noted for the amount of travelling he did. Although thought of as a British invention, it is actually based on earlier French models.

Though the Gladstone bag developed into the typical flat-sided suitcase of today, modern leather versions are marketed which in fact are not Gladstone bags. Often these modern bags are made with soft, rounded sides, only opening at the top. This incorrectly-named Gladstone bag is actually a kit bag, or a square-mouthed bag.

In J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel "The Catcher in the Rye", the character Holden Caulfield packs Gladstones when he leaves Pencey Prep. It seems somewhat an outmoded word, much like the word "chiffonier" that Salinger also uses in this book. In fact, the word may derive from Salinger's recent war-time experiences with kit bags.

Oscar Wilde referred to the Gladstone bag in "The Picture of Dorian Gray". "What a way for a fashionable painter to travel," says Dorian, "A Gladstone bag and an Ulster," combining two typically British names for everyday objects.

In 1992, Charlotte Macleod published "The Gladstone Bag: A Sarah Keller Mystery".