Why did it take so long to put wheels on suitcases?
In short: We take rolling luggage for granted, but for much of the 20th century, travelers were stuck lugging heavy containers. From massive wooden trunks to the modern spinner, the evolution of baggage is a story of changing transport, gendered perceptions, and a struggle to solve the headache of air travel.
For centuries, travel meant transporting heavy wooden chests or trunks. In the late 1600s, American trunks were constructed from various woods and covered in animal hides from horses, cows, or deer. By the 1700s, these became more decorative, featuring leather trim, brass tacks, and iron locks. These massive items required professional movers, as they were far too heavy for individuals to carry easily.
The shift toward lightweight, individual-sized suitcases followed the Second World War. However, the transition to wheeled luggage was surprisingly slow. While patents for wheeled trunks appeared as early as 1887, and a wheeled suitcase was patented in 1945, they failed to achieve commercial success. Some attribute this delay to a 'macho' culture where men refused to use suitcases with wheels, while others point to the abundance of porters and the availability of heavy iron casters in the 1960s.
The modern era of rolling luggage began with Bernard D. Sadow, who developed the first successful commercial rolling suitcase in 1970. His patent, filed in 1970 and granted in 1972, addressed the growing difficulty of baggage handling in the age of air travel. This was followed by a significant innovation in 1987, when pilot Robert Plath invented the upright, two-wheeled 'Rollaboard' style, which was initially used by flight crews before becoming a global standard.
Today, the market is split between the upright 'Rollaboard' and the four-wheeled 'spinner' luggage, popularized by Samsonite's Silhouette line in 2004. While technology has advanced to include 'smart luggage' with GPS and USB ports, it has also faced regulatory hurdles. In January 2018, a ban on smart luggage with non-removable batteries in checked luggage caused several companies to shut down.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Baggage
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