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This part of the site will be largely empty for a while as it's sources get built out. But while we wait, what exactly compels one to decide to deep dive on the history of everything Samsonite? Weren't you primarily interested in US LEGO Samsonite?

Early in writing my history on LEGO Samsonite, it became unavoidable to talk about the history of Shwayder Bros. and their various ventures—their institutional division, folding furniture division, even supermarket division, etc. In writing, I was left at a crossroads. Either I deviate from my strict sourcing standards and summarize what is readily available online or I do the deep dive.

That's an incredibly difficult decision, as it is a commitment to invest over a thousand hours in compiling, organizing, and writing tangentially. Focused away from the main topic I was originally interested in.

What ultimately pushed me over was a very rude awakening.

For context, I come from the LEGO community, where aside from LEGO Samsonite it's rather difficult to stumble across things that haven't been cataloged in a database somewhere. There are plenty of private hobbyist and collector led sources that have explored to the ends of LEGO's history and meticulously continue to refine and correct themselves, so much so that there isn't much progress to be made in the field beyond local/licensee nuance, such as Canadian LEGO Samsonite.

But that same effort simply doesn't exist for Samsonite itself.

As far as my research has revealed, there is no public database that has sorted out Samsonite's product line, delved deep in its history, etc. Of course there are histories and anecdotes published online, but they largely all summarize the same highlighted events, not trying to make sense of the minutiae.

There should exist a source that gives a proper timeline of products, what was available when, what styles, colors, pamphlets—there's an unbelievable amount of progress to be made.

Sure, we could take the easy road and cite the corporate history published by Samsonite themselves. But what would that ultimately contribute to our knowledge? It's one thing to casually reference something for mundane life, but it's another to skip an opportunity. We've identified a massive research gap and no one has stepped up to fill it.

For example, try to look up when 'Samson' started being used for their luggage, notice how there is no consensus for the date that occurred, not even a reliable range or decade. Or try to find when certain Samsonite luggage lines released. Horizon, according scattered materials online, can only be dated as early as 1961, but it actually released for Samsonite's fiftieth anniversary in early 1960.

Similarly, 'Samsonite', according to Samsonite's published history, first appeared in 1939 when it was used for their Streamlite luggage. But Samsonite themselves do not agree, as Samsonite of Europe has claimed that Streamlite was first released in 1941.

Based on what I've collected, 'Samsonite' was first publicly used in 1938, with national adverts using the name to reference the material for their new Streamlite line of luggage. This one is from Time:

We have the site template, the context, the vested interest, the strict standards, and a need—there's no reason to not take the charge.

Besides, puzzles excite me. It's rewarding to sort out all the pieces and assemble them one by one, and eventually you get to take a step back and admire your prize. But there's a certain element that I've only ever felt when researching LEGO Samsonite: it wasn't like your typical 2,000 piece puzzle. It was akin to assembling an unbelievably intricate puzzle never meant to be put back together: it wasn't designed to have that reward at all. But you feel it ten times more, because there was never a picture on the box to show you what it should look like. That awesome feeling is only strengthened as new information is found, as while some pieces are moved, you see your efforts paid off. Your reasoning was able to find a piece's exact spot without anything that surrounds it. And that only continues to flourish, as the more pieces you have in their correct place, the clearer the original picture becomes.

That is what this section of the site is for. To make sense of the disjointed pieces of Samsonite's past, to finally centralize it once and for all.