EXPANSION TRUNKS AND VALISES. 355 



EXPANSION TRUNKS AND VALISES. 



Trunks and valises of a pattern which has sometimes been 

 made of leather, are now made of caoutchouc and whalebone 

 board with new facilities, the material retaining its shape much 

 better than leather. The trunk or valise is made in two parts, 

 of about the same depth. That part which forms the top, and 

 is a trifle the larger of the two, shuts over the other, and by 

 being raised or depressed, the size of the trunk is proportioned 

 to its contents. See plate , fig. . These are easily made 

 a life-preserving apparatus when manufactured with a cushion 

 of gum-elastic sponge around the edge of the lid upon the inside, 

 so that when the trunk, valise, or box is reduced to its smallest 

 dimensions, and the edge of the lid shuts against the cushion, it 

 is rendered quite water and air-tight. See plate , fig. 



In the appUcation of gum-elastic to traveling apparatus, an 

 improvement is made by a method of marking and numbering 

 the articles, which adds greatly to their security against mis- 

 carriage and loss. This, in the present mode of traveling by 

 railway, is no inconsiderable advantage. The impossibility 

 often of getting baggage checked for want of time, renders every 

 precaution necessary. 



The improvements consists in manufacturing the article with 

 mottoes and numbers in bas-relief, selecting a different motto 

 for each size of each class of articles, and a different number for 

 each article. 



This method of marking adds nothing to the expense of the 

 articles, the mottoes being moulded in the process of vulcanizing, 

 while much is added to their value by being rendered less liable 

 to loss. 



