Before the rolling suitcase was common, bags had to be carried. It was difficult to lug the suitcases without support. A trip to the airport was like a gym workout for most people, unless you could find a porter. There were more porters than customs officials in some airports. It was especially hard for children to travel in those days. They needed to find a porter.
A tsunami of travellers will hit the skies this December. They should thank Bernard Sadow for the ease of their journey. Most of the jet-setters would not have heard of Sadow. This is a pity. There is a strange symmetry to the revival of travel in 2022. It will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the patenting of the rolling suitcase.
It is surprising that rolling suitcases are so recent. The wheel was invented over 5,000 years ago. Jet travel took off in the 1960s. We put a man on the moon in 1969. But, it was only in 1972 that the first suitcase with wheels was patented.
