Name/Title
George Hawkins's Travel TrunkEntry/Object ID
2022.2.85.197Description
Travel trunks such as this one used by George Hawkins lost popularity following WW2. As travel practices changed, so too did the luggage we used. With faster travel and shorter trips becoming more and more possible, travelers let their large trunks stay behind.
In the height of their use, travel trunks were often built with luxury and durability. By the twentieth century, as their use waned, they became lighter weight and increasingly portable. What used to be packed onto carriages and trains now went into individual cars and even planes. Eventually, the large trunks were left at home, packed away in attics and forgotten, or removed from use altogether.
These trunks tell the stories of their owners through the stickers left behind. Unlike the airline tags we cut off our bags after every trip, these stickers were adhered directly to the trunks. Along with tags related to the travel itself, such as the New York to a covered pier in Havre, United States Line, and French Line stickers on Hawkins's trunk, hotels would provide stickers for travelers. Hawkins's trunk includes a sticker from the Hotel Lancaster Paris. The hotel opened in the 1930s and drew glamorous visitors. Marlene Dietrich even lived in suite 401, where her baby grand piano remains.Location
Ohio State Park
Malabar Farm State Park
