Wonderful patinated dark brown leather Norfolk hide case that is bigger than usual, and is a great size for an overnight or weekend case. With original Rexine lining to the interior, circa 1920. The front lip of the case is stamped with the patent number and 'Warranted Solid Leather’.
Dimensions: 57 cm/22½ inches (length) x 37 cm/14⅝ inches (depth) x 115 cm/6 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.
