Tan leather Norfolk hide attaché case with polished brass catches, circa 1920. Has original Rexine lining to the interior and a replacement hand stitched leather handle. The front lip of the case is stamped with the maker Ashtona, patent number, and marked; 'Warranted Solid Leather’.
Dimensions: 37.5 cm/14¾ inches (length) x 25 cm/9⅞ inches (depth) x 10 cm/3⅞ inches (height).
Norfolk hide is one of the best-kept secrets harboured by collectors and dealers in fine luggage, and is highly prized. It is possibly the most unusual process in the manufacture of leather goods, which results in an entirely distinctive moulded finish. The process makes the leather stronger and more rigid, giving it a visual and tactile density more normally associated with wood and a real depth of patination. It also appears unusually free of structural seams and stitching, the parts are all of one piece, with no apparent joins. Interestingly, Norfolk hide takes its name from the fact that items were manufactured in Norfolk Street, Sheffield - and not, as one might assume, in the county of Norfolk.
