Siobhan's Photography & the Samsonite Bag

Samsonite Silhouette Suitcase at The Inn on Bourbon Street

A couple weeks ago, my friend and outstanding photographer, Siobhan, stopped by to say hello and check out a couple new Junk and Howe items I thought she'd like. She was on her way to a still-recovering New Orleans for Mardi Gras that week, and spotted a light blue Samsonite Silhouette Garment Bag/Suitcase. She wanted it for her drive down to Louisiana. The only problem was that someone had put a small lock on it and I didn't have any bolt cutters to get it off yet.

She had some.
Problem solved.

The bag hadn't even been photographed yet, and thus hadn't been added to the Junk and Howe store either. But, for someone I've known for years and whom I've kind of adopted as my little sister, I had no problem selling her the bag, along with a couple other items. My only condition, because I didn't want it to leave without having something to remember it by: "Please take a picture of the bag somewhere in New Orleans." She did, and as with most other pictures Siobhan takes, it's amazing, as you can plainly see above.

Siobhan did her undergraduate work at Columbia College in Chicago - Fine Arts Photography - and is currently doing graduate work there as well. I've known her since I ran my rock and roll publication, The Crutch, and I was always amazed at how easily she could adapt to photographic situations that she wasn't familiar with. After seeing so many bad snapshot type of photographs at small rock and roll shows here in Chicago, I urged her to get up there against the stage at Chicago staple venues, such as Empty Bottle and Double Door. She did, and she has taken some of the best rock and roll concert photos I've seen. Unlike the stuff you see in magazines, Siobhan captures the rawness that is rock and roll. The other stuff is too polished, and lacks the feeling that you get at an $8 show at a small venue.

King Khan

But it's her original, innate visual artist's eye that puts her on the fine arts level, as she is able to extract the feeling of even inanimate objects - as if she somehow is able to give voice to the walls of the Packard plant ruins in Detroit, or a lonely forgotten railroad track in tiny Argenta, Illinois.

Packard Plant

I did a couple favors by modeling for Siobhan while she was studying her undergraduate. By no means am I a model, and yet while attempting to play natural in a familiar setting, she revealed an emotional skeleton that I didn't realize was visible in every way. I, as a writer, would have a real task to match that kind of temporal breakthrough in words. Her gift couldn't be overstated.

Younger me, as a smoker

The Samsonite Silhouette bag is nothing like I've ever seen. Literally - I've never seen another one of these, and still can't find one anywhere on the Internet. Its design is so interesting, with both sides opening up to create a garment bag - with a hook for hangers and all. It's boxy, but it's rounded, so as not to crease whatever you want to keep unwrinkled. And its fabric zip-up girdle on the inside helps keep those hanging clothes secure against the skin, and separate from all the folded clothing you fill the bag with, as it acts like a large duffel would. It's pretty cool.

It's even cooler sitting on the bed at The Inn on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Thanks, Siobhan!

Check out just a sliver of Siobhan's portfolio at her website. I believe she is going to be making available some stunning prints of her work in her own shop (on Etsy) sometime soon. We'll keep you posted.

What a Piece: Luggage

“What a piece.” That may mean something different to whoever is looking at whatever. This is a recurring feature, in which we will spotlight certain vintage items that we feel are noteworthy and cool - classic. Function, use, quality and design. Made in the USA. This is what Junk and Howe searches for, and this is what we find.

Luggage. If you go anywhere, you need it. Samsonite and American Tourister are household names when it comes to luggage. Once fierce American-made rivals, today they are both owned by the same company and mostly made outside the United States.

Samsonite advertised and sold their first piece of luggage at Macy’s in 1918, and became famous for their “Strong Enough To Stand On” slogan during that time. It was started in Denver and run by Jesse Shwayder, who brought in the rest of his family. Such things aren’t always a good idea, but it was a picture of Shwayder, his three brothers, and their father all standing on a wooden plank resting across a row of their luggage that helped gain attention for the company, eventually pushing them to the top luggage company in the country. By the 1970s, they were making their bags overseas.

Sol Koffler wanted to make durable luggage for affordable prices. He set out to do that by opening American Luggage Works in Providence, Rhode Island in 1933, which eventually became American Tourister in the ‘40s, after World War II. The company did well for the first few decades, but exploded in the 1970s due to an ad campaign that featured a gorilla jumping up and down on an American Tourister suitcase. In actuality, it was a man in a gorilla suit, but the impact had been felt and seen. By the early 1990s, they sold the company and began making luggage in other parts of the world.



The old luggage is still durable, and built to last – especially the hard shells. The larger suitcases are ideal for road trips. They’re big enough to carry two people’s things – great for a relaxing, simple getaway weekend. Pare down and get out of town. Sounds like ad copy. Or use them for storage - perhaps to store seasonal clothing or files. Stack them in a room and use them for decoration at the same time.

The smaller of the sets – especially the American Tourister carry-ons and train cases – are great for so many occasions and uses. Use them as your carry-on bag for the plane – they’re small, light, and resilient. Use one or the other as an overnighter, day tote, gym bag, make-up case, sewing kit case, art supplies storage, and so forth. Like the briefcases and medium-sizes, the train case is perfect storage for a musician – cables, microphones, pedals, etc. Know a friend, lover, or family member who’s a musician or artist? These kinds of things are the perfect unique gift – even for yourself!

There are tons of brands of vintage luggage out there because there were boutique shops and smaller, regional companies. And of course, there are brands like J.C. Higgins, which was the sporting goods brand by Sears & Roebuck. Or Louis Vuitton, which is French designer luggage and an obvious mention, so I’ll spare you. Whichever way you go, a quality vintage suitcase can get you there – safely, and in style.

Visit the Junk and Howe store and see what we have waiting for you. Here's a few directly:

Vintage American Tourister Hard Shell Briefcase/Suitcase (BUY IT)


American Tourister Escort Marble Red Hard Shell Suitcases set of 2 (BUY IT)


Vintage American Tourister Tiara Carry-on Bag (SOLD)


Vintage J.C. Higgins Small Suitcase (SOLD)


Vintage American Tourister Train Case (SOLD)


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Some recommended travel music that Junk and Howe has enjoyed in the last couple months:

The Strange Boys – And Girls Club
Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson and Aerial Ballet
Merle Haggard – Mama Tried
Loretta Lynn – 20 Greatest Hits
Waylon Jennings – 16 Biggest Hits
Dwight Yoakam – personal greatest hits mix
Greg Cartwright – Live at the Circle A
The Shangri-Las – Myrmidons of Melodrama
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends – Peel Session 9/13/00
Hank Williams – 40 Greatest Hits
Blanche – If We Can’t Trust the Doctors…
The Record Low – Away From Us