Manufactured by
Samsonite, American, founded 1910
Mercury Tours, Inc., American
Owned by
Sinclair, Clayton, American
Sinclair, Hazel, American
Subject of
Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
Date
1939-1965
Medium
silk (fiber) and leather with wood, plastic and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (2012.12.33.1a): 18 5/8 × 19 13/16 × 8 11/16 in. (47.3 × 50.4 × 22 cm)
H x W x D (2012.12.33.1b): 2 1/16 × 9 5/8 × 3/16 in. (5.3 × 24.4 × 0.4 cm)
H x W x D (2012.12.33.1c): 2 1/16 × 9 5/8 × 3/16 in. (5.3 × 24.4 × 0.4 cm)
Description
A white, medium sized suitcase with a luggage tag and tour tag belonging to Hazel Sinclair, owner of the Rock Rest Tourist Home.
2011.12.33.1a: A white, medium sized suitcase with a white and tan marbled exterior belonging to Clayton and Hazel Sinclair, owners of the Rock Rest Tourist Home. The case has a brass lock and brass handle hardware. The interior of the case is lined with gray silk. The case has two (2) tan interior luggage straps and two (2) elasticized pockets on the bottom. There is a silk divider attached to the top side of the case. The top side has three (3) brass hangers. There is a brass and wooden bar that stretches across top side of the silk divider but is attached at the bottom of the top side of the case with hinges. There are two (2) brass plates affixed to the center edge of the top of the case. The top one is oval shaped and has stamped text that reads [SHWAYDER BROS. INC. / Samsonite / DENVER DETROIT]. The plate below has the owner’s initials, [HAS], stamped in large text.
2011.12.33.1b: A black leather and plastic suitcase tag attached to the top handle with a white, paper card with black printed text that reads [IDENTIFICATION TAG] at the top with the owner’s information hand printed in blue ink below [CLAYTON SINCLAIR], followed below with his address and phone number. The tag is attached to the case with a black shoestring.
2011.12.33.1c: An orange paper tag with black text attached to the top handle reads [MERCURY TOURS, INC. / 31 St. JAMES AVENUE, SUITE 240, BOSTON MA 02116]. Below are three printed lines of texts that read [Name] with the name [Hazel Sinclair] handwritten in pencil, [Bus #1 Tour CANADA], and [Departure Place] with the location [York, ME.] handwritten in pencil. On the back are two (2) sets of numbers handwritten in black text [426] near the top of the tag and [62] encircled in black in on the right side.
Place collected
Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
Place used
Canada
Collection title
The Rock Rest Tourist Home Collection
Classification
Accessories and Personal Effects
Type
suitcases
tags
Topic
Black Enterprise
Black interiors
Business
Recreation
Segregation
Travel
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
Object number
2011.12.33.1abc
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c84d2719-9061-4cc0-a2a5-ad902a543c76

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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