The company names to look for are:
- Mutual Briefcase Co., Inc
- Wear Best Leather Specialty CO.
(The patent holder and manufacturer of the "
Stay-Open Frame",
was a company named "Cesso")
I've written to, and heard back from,
a lot of owners of the correct style case and
the majority answered that their case was made by one of the above two companies.
* I've also found one example made by a company called "Maximillion" out of New York
and one example from a company called "Carlton".
But, those were the only two examples that did not come from one of the above manufacturers.
Although the names really don't matter too much as most of the companies no longer exist,
and those that do have moved on to producing modern style cases. (ie: nylon and plastic)
So, even armed with the company names, searching by that route is actually the harder way of finding a case.
The easier way would be to keep an eye on eBay and look for a case that has the correct stitching.
(double line across the top and straight lines across the bottom and sides)
* pay attention to the bottom of the bag as well, because some will have an accented or rounded stitch pattern, in the corners.
It won't matter what company it comes from as they will all be the same.
The lock(s):
If any of the briefcases I found had one of these two locks, the owners
answer was "
Crest Lock", ...
100% of the time.
(I show the first one because the cases you find will likely have this style)
In most instances the correct stitched case will come with the proper handle.
* Look for a handle where the connection hardware consists of two round posts...
(some will have flats, or squared bars).
If not, "Crest Lock" also sells the proper style handles, so no worries there.
- Crest Lock sells the handles and the lock for about 12us each.
* You'll also want to purchase the correct style hasp, for the closing strap.
... Add 20 dollars or so, for the vintage bag, and you'll have yourself a screen accurate
briefcase!
BB2000:
Other than the case on display at Universal, I have found only 3 other examples of the correct style lock/hasp.
- One was stamped - "Stronghold"
- The second was stamped - "Stronghold 757"
And just today... I found a third one that is stamped.... "Crest Lock"
http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum2/public/style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif
(Although this style does not currently appear on the website)
http://www.cresthardware.com/locks.htm#3slotlck
* The lock on the briefcase, in the Universal display, does have a name stamped into it but I can't quite make it out, with the photos I've seen.
The case itself I have not found yet.
Although, it appears identical to the above cases, with additional quarter round patches added to the lower corners.
I'm still waiting on a few final answers, from vintage case owners, about the manufacturers of their specific bags and hardware, but I expect the new info will fall right in line with the current info.
Lastly... The biggest obstacle in the whole process will be turning the bag black.
I have found
not one example of the correct bag, in a black color.
They have all been brown.
I hope this info helps everyone to assemble a 100% accurate bag/ briefcase.
Good luck and please post your results!
.
5
