The most famous suitcase in the world was built to last: 'It's been dinged by elephants, it's fallen off safari trucks, it's traversed five continents'
If you only ever buy one suitcase, make sure it's one from Globe-Trotter.
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth embarked on her Hampshire honeymoon with a trio of companions: her new husband, Susan the corgi and a selection of brown suitcases she continued to use, personalised later with a monogram reading ‘THE QUEEN’.
The cases were from Globe-Trotter, established by David Nelken in 1897 to provide luggage built to last.
It was the adoption of vulcanised fibreboard that earned the suitcases an early reputation. A remarkably strong yet lightweight material, it was invented in 1859 and is made by bonding paper, cotton and wood pulp, then compressing them into sheets (the exact formula, patented by Globe-Trotter in 1902, is a closely guarded secret).
A single sheet of fibreboard is used per case, hand-moulded and still shaped on Victorian-era machinery in a process that takes 10 days.
How did the company demonstrate its strength? By standing an elephant on a cabin trunk and using the image for the 1912–13 catalogue, of course.
Today, the leather used for the distinctive corners and straps are supplied exclusively by British tanneries and no more than 200 suitcases are crafted in the Hertfordshire factory each week.
The are several Globe-Trotter fans in the Country Life team — fitting given that the luggage brand and magazine were founded in the same year. 'I have been to the factory where they're [the cases] made and it is extraordinary,' says Editor-in-Chief Mark Hedges. 'There are these wonderful old bits of machinery that are still used, alongside more modern ones. One of the most fascinating things was them repairing very old cases.'
Country Life contributor Christopher Wallace has spent the last two years travelling the world, living out of his Globe-Trotter case: 'I've actually just put it to rest. I kept it going for as long as I could and I've never had more compliments on anything in my life. It's been dinged by elephants, it's fallen off safari trucks, it's traversed five continents: Africa top to bottom; South America; China east to west. It was part of my life, and I was very sad to let it go.'
'People become emotionally attached to a suitcase,' says Mark, 'because they've been away or on holiday with it — it's been with them in all of their happier moments.'
Elephants were not the only test. In 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott packed a Globe-Trotter case for his Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic and Sir Winston Churchill faced Whitehall as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924 with a Dispatch Case in hand. 'When I was there [in the factory],' says Mark, 'they were repairing Brad Pitt's set of cases — at least I'm 95% sure it was Brad Pitts'...'
This unparalleled rolodex of customers is one of the reasons Christopher wanted a Globe-Trotter in the first place. 'I wanted mine to have a little bit of the Golden Age of travel and some of the Poirot elements in it. I wanted the suitcase I saw as a kid in the old ads for Cunard. The kind of luggage you'd put a sticker on from the Carlton in Cannes.'
In 1900, the company introduced navy-blue luggage — a radical departure from the ubiquitous brown of the era. Last year, they marked the 60th anniversary of the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball with a limited-edition Globe-Trotter x 007 bag. Only 60 were made available, in navy with leather trim with internal artwork by the late Robert McGinnis, the brains behind many of the franchise's famous posters.
Today, more than 30 colour options are available, including a candy pink that's part of an ongoing and successful collaboration with Snoopy, Woodstock and the PEANUTS gang.
Cases from £1,195. Visit the Globe-Trotter website to view the whole range.
This feature originally appeared in the July 8, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
