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Nellie Shwayder was the wife of Jesse Shwayder, the founder of Shwayder Trunk Mfg. Co., later Shwayder Bros Inc., later Samsonite. At some point, likely in the early 1960s, she privately published this book of five short stories in Denver:

No online source mentions Five Stories, very little evidence remains documenting this book's existence. Beyond the copy I own, the only other publicly known surviving copy is held by the University of Denver, within the family papers donated by the Shwayder family in the Beck Archives. I had the pleasure of meeting with them and viewing their copy in person:

Their copy was from Nellie Shwayder' sister, though interestingly, that copy had dark green text instead of the golden gilt of my own. That discrepancy may be indicative of print variations, multiple print runs, or an intentional change.

Five Stories, as of 2025, is missing from all prominent archives including Library of Congress, Hathitrust, Google Books, archive.org, nor is it listed in any book databases. The book itself has no ISBN (it predates that system anyway), copyright, or other identifying marks.

The only mention in media is in the American Jewish Archives, with a blurb written in April of 1964. It states the book was privately published in Denver, dedicated to Nellie's children, and was possibly released in 1963 (indicated by "1963 [?]"). I'm unsure of how reasonable that date was, as there are a number of different reasons 1963 was chosen but also intentionally marked as possibly inaccurate. However, it does appear, given the depth AJA goes into, they had access to a copy in 1964. AJA's current archives do not reflect a copy still in their possession.

So we know it was privately published and belongs to the 1960s, likely 1963. I've found that relative date to be consistent with a number of elements of the book, including the high-end paper used (Hamilton Andorra) and the subjects touched on within the writing.

The entire book is hosted onsite. I encourage you to take a look through to see if you notice anything I missed. I've scanned it in the exact condition I received it, without cleaning or any other restoration.

The last thing is that my copy is signed:

"With all my love, from mother, Nellie Shwayder"

Comparing with the copy held by DU, which was addressed to Nellie's sister, we see several consistent elements:

You can click on images to get a closer look. Compare her distinct capital 'W', how she does not connect the 'w' and the 'a' in Shwayder, and consistently with other letters as well.

Note that she also signed this one with a nickname alongside her maiden name, presumably because it was inscribed for her sister.

Nell Weitz Shwayder

Nellie Shwayder

By 'private', we can safely assume the book was not made for mass retail and was privately distributed. Hence the lack of copyright. It is unclear exactly how many copies were produced. We can at least assume six: one for Nellie's sister and then one for each of her five children.

There is also the likelihood that it was distributed within the wider Shwayder family as well as possibly the local Denver Jewish community, but the spread of that is difficult to determine without more to go off of.

A Personal Note

As a quick aside, I come from the LEGO sphere, in which family artifacts are completely out of reach for minor collectors such as myself. It is just one of those facts of life.

Such is not true for Samsonite.

For me, the rarity of this particular piece is completely sidelined by its story. Collectors make everything about rarity and dollar value, but as I've leaned more and more into the archival space, I've inadvertently found an incredible, life-changing perspective. A different value pieces like these carry.

You read about histories of these massive companies, their success stories and such. Early products feel very personal and intimate, as they very likely passed through the hands of the founders, but unparalleled is to examine something not made as a product. This book is a perfect example: it is a personal expression.

Of course I'm romanticizing a bit, but sometimes its difficult to humanize the abstract. It's very rare you are gifted an anchor that so clearly connects the dots. As a writer, this piece in particular is extremely special to me. I empathize and connect with her writing strongly.

As an archivist, to be able to share her work with the world is an honor. It may have not originally been intended for a wider audience, but the Shwayder family was so much more beyond Samsonite and this book was the smoking gun to make me realize that.

If I was just a collector, I don't know that I would've ever even found it.