Featured Well it sure isn't new... Very old tooled leather suite case.

This is a really neat suitcase. The tag on the inside reads “Hand made by Roark San Angelo, TX" I don't know how old it is and haven't been able to find anything on Roark in San Angelo but this case is just so cool. My husband fell in love with it and wants it. LOL! I don't know what he thinks he would do with it but I have to admit I too like it. It could look cool in the corner.

 

Pity you cant trace the initials on it . I think its cool too .

 

I saw that on the shelf and wondered.....
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You can always store something in it.

 

That is beyond cool!

 

It's heavy. I wouldn't have wanted to tote it around full of stuff. LOL. My husband said "can you imagine how stylish the man that owned it must have been in the day?" I can say he most likely had one very strong arm if he traveled often. LOL. The pieces on the inside are the pieces of leather that came off the handle. It came that way. I wonder if it could be repaired with them?

 

Found the company mentioned on page six - right hand side. A set was given as a prize.
http://www.livestockweekly.com/papers/49/03.17.1949.pdf

 

C G T the 3rd.......that can't be so hard to find.....figuring a Texas boy !!

But when I search.......CGT....come up with Capital Gains Tax....!!

So, maybe harder than I thought...

Maybe a white pages search would yield better results..

 

Wow! That is amazing that you found that. Looks like San Angelo hasn't changed much. LOL! $350 dollars sounds like a lot for 1949. Thanks so much that is pretty cool. Makes this all the more interesting.

 

I like hers even more. It has a horse on it! I wonder if this one could have been a similar type of prize.

 

I have been reading through that newspaper hoping to find someone with a name that matches those initials. I mean San Angelo isn't very big but then again they may not have been from San Angelo. I checked the notable people section for San Angelo's wiki page but nothing came up there either. My theory was that anyone that could spend 350 bucks on a fancy suitcase wasn't a nobody in town. Unless of course they won it similar to the way the girl mentioned won hers. It does seem it could have been a design made for a younger boy. LOL! CGT III is going to haunt me. LOL!

 

Found another one made by the same company but the take is metal instead of fabric and it says "custom built" as oppose to "hand made." They sure are proud of it, too. As they should be because it is really beautiful.

https://www.luckystargallery.com/shop/vintage-tooled-leather-suitcase-2/

 

Have you considered writing to the company to see if they have records going back far enough to id CGT III?

 

Another source are US Census records and city directories. I've found most of my ancestors in city directories. Even though the owner may not be from San Angelo, it's worth checking. Look for last names ending in T

 

To me it screams late 30s to early 40s. The one in the link Id think the late 40s-50s.

The only Roark I could find specializes in furs and leather since 1939 but are out of Ohio.
Maybe an off-shoot?

 

Hi,
It is wonderful. I do not blame your husband. I have two ladies makeup cases from the 40s and one man's case from the 30s. i have them filled with everything.
greg

 

That is gorgeous!

As you've gotten the auction business going have you found that either you or your husband have liked many of the items and thought of keeping them? Hope that doesn't get out of hand!

 

Ha ha ha. Yes all the time. So far the fact that I'm broke has helped but Lord help me if I ever get money to spend and a house to keep it.

I see so many things that go cheap but I can't afford to buy it all. The Bernhardt table sold. 1600 with the chairs. I loved that table. I would have spent that in a heartbeat had I had the funds. Which is probably why I don't have the funds. LOL. I would have spent them already.

 

My WAG might be a Texas oil man.....they liked to strut their stuff!!!!! And it totally looks like '40's to maybe early '50's! OR, maybe just a Cattleman Rancher, what with all those branding irons mixed in with the saddles, spurs, hats, boots, gun belts and holsters!!

 

I'd say Cattle Baron..