My bags are the antidote for the poly-lined synthetic leather run-of-the-mill bags being produced in China. Most of my bags are full-grain leather; Artisan craft, with authentic distressed character, and many with modifications unique to our line. We only use high-grade men’s belts for shoulder straps. This leather is reminiscent of equestrian leather halter straps. I also use half centimeter thick moose skin. Nothing wimpy here; quality and character that stands out and stands the test of a truly rugged lifestyle. Invest in a bag that you’ll love more and more over time. Not all leather bags are created the same. A great quality leather bag is supposed to look better with time as the leather acquires marks and age-related wear. Make sure to check out my whole store. At the time of this listing, I have 207 items all unique and different. Once you have tried it you will wonder how you functioned before without an inside handle. Also on many of my briefcases, I add a moose skin handle wrap. The handle is the point of contact that the owner has with their bag and moose skin leather is so pleasing to touch. My philosophy in writing descriptions is: a picture speaks 1000 words. That said, here is my description. When I found this true treasure in London, I was amazed; I was impressed. While most of the briefcase upgrades I do use leather and copper rivets or a bit of Weldwood contact cement, the person who “tripped out” this 1960’s briefcase added locks made likely in the 1800’s from my bit of research on Joseph Bramah; the master lock-maker. Is a master craftsman in his or her own right. They cut the Solid Brass corners to fit perfectly around the original feet. After polishing the solid brass locks, with great skill and result, they then installed perfectly, in my opinion, the Joseph Bramah Locks. When you push the small buttons from the middle outward on each side they spring up immediately and make a pleasant “klump; klump” sound. In this case, it would have been great to see the keys to these locks. From what I found on-line, the keys are tubular and were known for being some of the most difficult to pick. Do a google search for Bramah Lock Challenge and you will see photos and more to the story I have added below. What I love about this case. The Joseph Bramah Locks even though the key has been lost the springing open is so rugged you truly know you are using something special. I love the case made circa 1960s by Arden for men. It has such a beautiful well-loved look with out the scuff and damage that are sometimes present with cases of this age. When I found the case I really would have placed in in the 1940s or earlier because of the locks and the brass corners but after researching Arden it is more likely the 1960s. I love the adjustable pen loops; they will even fit those fat Mont Blanc pens as well as your Apple Pencil. I really like that you can stow away larger items and keep your laptop in the fan-file. I have added a deerskin leather bottom to the fan file and so it will accommodate a laptop that even is up to 1.5 inches thick. However you could just keep your MacBook Pro on the desktop that separate the top from the bottom. The case will still close easily. Packing it this way you can simply open the case and begin typing right on your lap. People are flocking back to the traditional hard-side cases because they are really easy to pack and it is easy to get access to all your gear by just putting it on your lap and popping the spring loaded locks open. There is just something completely satisfying about opening the locks on a vintage traditional hardside briefcase. The “Klump, Klump” sound is distinct. The people on the subway or in the other cubicle, if they are old enough, will remember the sound and will be very curious about who has the old-school briefcase. Many conversations will begin carrying this piece of history. As shown in the photos: This bag fits my mock-up wooden 15″ MacBook Pro 2017 (also the 2019 MacBook Pro 16 2019) with the measurements of 13.75″ x 9.48″ x Thickness 0.61″ It may fit a bit larger laptop so please contact me if you want me to measure for your specific laptop. This bag is large enough to fit my old huge 17 inch Toshiba Laptop which measures 16.25″ x 10.5″ x 1&3/8 thick! Please take a look at the photo showing this. The solid brass makes this case really stand out. The imprint of Joseph Bramah on the locks looks so very nice. I was fortunate to find just the right open-face luggage tag. You will have all sort of wonderful conversations with just the right quote. Joseph Bramah set up his locksmithing business at 124 Piccadilly, London in 1784. The technical achievement and level of security offered by Bramah’s locks were considered far beyond anything presented by his peers. As a result, the demand for his locks greatly outweighed his ability to manufacture them. Bramah needed to find a way to produce these locks in larger numbers, make them more economical to manufacture and, improve and standardis their quality. The solution came in 1789, when Bramah hired Henry Maudslay upon the recommendation of his employees. Maudslay was only 18, but his technical and mechanical abilities impressed Bramah to such a degree that he soon became his chief engineer. The collaboration of both Bramah and Maudslay produced a set of precision tools and machinery that addressed all of Bramah’s previous issues. If a lock with 12 sliders has a 1 in 479 million chance of being opened without its dedicated key, and then by adding just one more slider raises that probability to 1 in 6.2 billion – how on earth does someone successfully pick a lock with 18 sliders? This is the story about a challenge that remained unanswered for over 60 years, and the charismatic American that seemingly achieved the impossible. His actions would bring insecurity all the way up to the highest establishments of England. This unusual series of events that took place in 1851 became known as the Great Lock Controversy. In 1790, Maudslay was instructed to manufacture a padlock so secure and unpick-able that it couldn’t be opened by any means other than with its own dedicated key. Joseph Bramah died in 1814, never seeing his challenge overcome, but his son, Timothy, continued the business. [Future mentions of Bramah refer to either Timothy Bramah, Francis and Edward Bramah (his brothers who joined the business during the early 1820’s), or Bramah & Sons as a company]. Despite one failed attempt documented in 1817, Bramah’s Challenge Lock remained as a novel fixture gathering dust in their shop window. Articles began to surface in the press about the shortcomings of some Bramah’s locks; it was stated that they could be picked by an exhaustive and methodical process of applying differing pressures to the individual sliders, thus freeing the barrel and allowing it to operate the locking bolt. In 1817, one of Bramah’s employees, William Russell, came up with the addition of false notches on all the sliders and the locking plate; this made it seemingly impossible for the lock picker to ascertain the correct pressures and settings to be applied in order to free the barrel. Russell’s false notches were added to all 18 sliders of the Challenge Lock! With most of Bramah’s box locks having between four and six sliders at that time, a lock fitted with 18 was surely impenetrable. Day & Newell were a New York locksmith company that sent over their sales representative, Alfred Charles Hobbs, to present their’Parautoptic’ lock at the Great Exhibition [this lock went on to win a prize medal at the exhibition]. Not only was Hobbs an accomplished locksmith and inventor, he was also a very good salesman and indeed, showman. His thinking was that in order to promote their own lock [or more likely to promote himself], he should highlight the shortcomings and insecurities of those belonging to the competition; these being Jeremiah Chubb’s Detector lock and Joseph Bramah’s Challenge Lock. Hobbs contacted the firm of Chubb on the 21st July 1851 announcing that he intended to pick their famed’Detector’ lock the very next day; the lock in question was fixed to an iron door of a vault within the Depository of Valuable Papers, in Westminster. Hobbs, as good as his bold words, unlocked Chubb’s Detector lock in only 25 minutes, then taking a further 7 minutes to relock it. Hobbs gained immediate celebrity status in the press, adding further to the pomp and circumstance of the Great Exhibition. Capturing the fascination and (somewhat reluctant) support of UK population, there was now only one more hurdle for Hobbs to overcome – Bramah’s Challenge Lock. Prior to his Chubb Detector lock challenge, Hobbs had contacted Bramah on the 2nd July 1851 informing them of his intention to take on their challenge, and to request permission to make a wax impression of the lock’s keyhole in preparation. A committee of three were appointed to manage and act as arbitrators for the challenge, with an agreement between Hobbs and Bramah drawn up on the 19th July 1851. Hobbs had 30 days to open the lock. The lock was to be sandwiched between two pieces of wood and affixed to a wall (with sealed screws) in order to limit access to only the keyhole and hasp. The key would remain in the sole possession of Bramah at all times. The keyhole should be covered by an iron band, to be sealed by Hobbs, each time the lock is left unattended. If Hobbs was successful in picking or opening the lock, the key was to be used; if the key worked the lock as expected it would be accepted that the lock had been legitimately picked or opened, rather than by being forced and damaged. Removing all potential grounds of suspicion associated with the interference of the lock during the challenge period, Bramah decided to relinquish the right to hold onto the key. Instead, Bramah recommended that the key be sealed away until either the culmination of the challenge or the 30 day period. On the 24th July 1851, the Challenge Lock was removed from Bramah’s shop window and placed in one of the upper rooms where Hobbs, in isolation, began his seemingly impossible undertaking. After a week having elapsed and with curiosity growing, Bramah wrote to the committee requesting that they attend their establishment in order to inspect Hobb’s progress. A reply to this request was received stating that all three members of the committee were in Paris, and although they would have liked to attend, they were not sure what use their inspection would serve. Upon hearing this, Bramah disallowed Hobbs from continuing his efforts until more clarity could be lent to this situation. On the 8th August 1851, Bramah wrote to the committee again expressing their disappointment at their lack of attendance, and at not being granted the opportunity to see the result of the key operating the lock; even though Bramah had relinquished their rights to the key’s usage, they were in the belief that this wouldn’t exclude members of the committee doing so on their behalf. Bramah suspected that Hobbs would have likely damaged the lock to such an extent that the key would no longer work. A meeting took place between Bramah and the committee on the 15th August 1851. Bramah requested that they take the opportunity to test the key in the lock, as well as enlist someone to remain present during the remainder of the challenge. The committee rejected both requests; they didn’t believe there was any value to testing the key until the conclusion of the challenge, or any necessity to have a person present during the process. They thought that if Hobbs did indeed damage the lock in any way, he had the right to repair it accordingly should the time limit allow. As of the next morning, Hobbs was able to return to his task. Bramah received no response to their letter. On the 23rd August 1851, Hobbs, in the presence of two of the three committee members, displayed the Challenge Lock with its hasp open, then demonstrated its bolt moving back and forth. This seemingly impossible achievement had taken Hobbs over 51 hours of labour spread over 16 days. On the 29th August 1851, now in the presence of all the committee members and Bramah, Hobbs again displayed the hasp of the Challenge Lock open. Attached to the wood surrounding the lock were several connected pieces of apparatus that kept a rod tightly pressed into its keyhole; the addition of a small, bent, handheld piece of steel enabled Hobbs to turn the barrel of the lock allowing the hasp to re-enter its socket. Hobbs also produced two further tools; one similar to a stiletto, and the other similar to a crochet hook. Bramah immediately requested that the key be tried in order to see if the lock had indeed been successfully picked and not just forced; this request was denied in order to allow Hobbs a further day to get the lock back into its original state. On the next day, the key was inserted and it operated the lock without issue. Maybe it could be argued that the best defence – and indeed advertisement – Bramah could put forth is that. An extremely accomplished locksmith took 51 hours to open a lock that hadn’t had its design updated for 34 years, under unrealistically perfect test conditions, using multiple tools and fixed instrumentation not subjected to the possibility of detection. This is surely a great credit to the ingenuity of Bramah and their achievements in lock manufacture. There is more to this story but as you can see the Locks on this briefcase are something special. I have this bag listed as a man’s bag. But to a woman who is looking for that vintage rugged look, this would be perfect. This beautiful bag comes from a smoke-free home in Minnetonka Minnesota. And let me also say virus free home. To many, I have added unique functional modifications and made repairs giving each bag that coveted a well-loved look. Our company, 725BeautifulBags, reconditions and breaths new life into vintage distressed high-quality leather goods. Ask me about my custom-made Moose skin Briefcases and Backpack/Rucksacks. We specialize in Vintage Leather Bags that are meticulously crafted in the United States of America, France, Italy, Holland, Poland, Paraguay, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Uruguay, Greece.. Our Bags, Briefcases, Backpacks, Rucksacks, Duffel Bags, Garment Bags, Carry-on’s, are made of the following materials: Belting Leather, Saddle Leather, Harness Leather, Baseball Glove Leather, Battenkill Canvas, Salt & Pepper Canvas, Ballistic Nylon, and other rugged materials.. We focus on providing vintage bags from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s & 1980s to our customers worldwide. Some of the Brands that we carry are: Mark Cross, Kendall & Hyde, Le Tanner Paris France, Textier France, Humawaca Argentina, Goertzen Montana, Colonel Littleton, Aldo Raffa Italy, Sadhaus, Loewe Spain, Marlondo, Bick Brothers Makers, Mendel, Oshgosh, Skyway, White Star, Montblanc, John Badshaw &Sons, Frank Clegg, Korchmar, AH Brookings, Globetrotter, Wehrmanns Wisconsin, Byron Bridlehide, London Harness Company, Tosca, Rialto, Bellevue, Mendel, Etro Italy, Norris England, Edelman Leather, Tivoli, Stylite, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Kenwood, LL BEAN, Dunhill, Sergio’s Leather Creations, Wilt Roos Brothers, Herff Christiansen, El Cobollo Spain, Orskov Copenhagen, Riley, Joseph Hanna, Brahmin, Swaine Adeney, Papworth, Valigia Borsone, Dionigi Italy, John Varvatos, Conker Trunks, Lotuff, Uber Bags, Tom Bihn, Brunswick, Maxwell Scott, Ernest Alexander, Buffalo Jackson, Tumi, Filson, El Cobollo, Hartmann, Holland Sport Saddle Leather, Crouch & Fitzgerald, Orvis, Gokey, Bill Amberg, Norway, JW Hulme, Force Ten, BREE, Timberland, Norm Thompson, Banana Republic, Alfred Dunhill, Tusting, Schlesinger, Eddie Bauer, Rawlings, Ghurka, Dopp, Coach USA, Bally, J. Fold, Eddie Bauer, Goldpfeil, Duluth Pack, Ralph Lauren, RRL, Double RL, LL Bean, Tramontano, Saddleback, MCGUIRE NICHOLAS, Ruitertassen, Cooperstown, Village Tannery Designs, Condor Leather, Carlson Leather, Joseph Daniel, Belber Luggage, Cole Haan, Leder Aktentasche, Tangaroa, Terrida, M. London, Phillip Corbin, Renwick, Lions Leather Products, Finnigan LTD, Insall & Son, Wheary, Branchers, Barret & Son, K. KAUFMANN, GEO LAWRENCE COMPANY, Maraolo Italy, Seeger Germany, Bottega Veneta, Korchmar, Glaser Designs… We specialize in Luggage Rack Suitcases For classic cars: MG TC TD TF MGA MGB Austin Healey Porsche Triumph & Others. We also have a wonderful collection of Vintage Leather Suitcases for your Classic Automobile Collectors to top off your restored masterpiece. We are glad you have stopped to visit. This item is in the category “Clothing, Shoes & Accessories\Men\Men’s Accessories\Bags”. The seller is “725beautifulbags” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Bahamas, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Monaco, Macau, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Sweden, Belgium, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Republic of Croatia, Luxembourg.
- Features: RARE JOSEPH BRAMAH LOCKS ADDED, BRASS CORNERS ADDED, LOCKS MADE IN THE 19TH CENTURY NO KEYS, SOLID BRASS HARDWARE, LOCKS SPRING OPEN NICELY, INSIDE LAPTOP DESKTOP FOR TYPING IN YOUR CASE, PEN, APPLE PENCIL LOOPS
- Handle Style: Top Handle
- Department: Men
- Handmade: Yes
- Pattern: Solid
- Lining Material: Deerskin added on bottom of \
- Bag Height: 13 in
- Manufacturer Color: British Tan
- Occasion: Business
- Vintage: Yes
- Size: Large
- Country/Region of Manufacture: England & USA
- Material: Leather
- Year Manufactured: 1960-1969
- Model: Reederang Selected Joseph Bramah
- Product Line: ONE-OF-A-KIND BY REEDERANG
- Hardware Material: Solid Brass
- Handle/Strap Material: Leather
- Bag Width: 18 in
- Bag Depth: 4.5 in
- Fabric Type: Canvas
- Brand: Vintage
- Style: Briefcase
- Color: British Tan
- Closure: Spring Locks – Push Button
- Theme: Vintage, One-of-a-kind, 1960’s, Late 1800s Bramah Locks (no Key), Retro
