Dressing Cases
Dressing cases were portable cases designed to contain the instruments required for personal grooming. During the nineteenth century they formed an essential part of travel and private life.
Leuchars & Son became known for the manufacture of fitted dressing cases containing grooming tools, scent bottles and other personal accessories arranged within carefully organised interiors.
What Is a Dressing Case
A dressing case is a fitted case designed to hold grooming instruments and personal accessories. The interior of the case is divided into compartments so that each object has a dedicated place.
Typical contents could include brushes, mirrors, scent bottles, shaving tools and other personal items required for daily grooming.
Fitted Interiors
The interiors of dressing cases were carefully fitted so that each instrument was held securely in place. Compartments were lined with leather, velvet or silk and shaped to match the form of the objects they contained.
This fitted structure allowed the owner to transport a complete set of grooming tools within a single case.
Materials and Accessories
Dressing cases often contained accessories supplied by specialist craftsmen. These could include silver mounted tools, glass scent bottles, brushes and mirrors.
The case itself served as the framework that organised these objects into a complete travelling set.
Dressing Cases and Travel
Dressing cases became closely associated with travel during the nineteenth century. Portable cases allowed travellers to carry their grooming instruments and personal accessories in a compact and organised form.
These cases were used in households, by travellers and by individuals who required personal grooming equipment during journeys.
The Leuchars Tradition
The Leuchars name became widely associated with dressing cases produced in London during the nineteenth century. Examples of these fitted cases survive in museums, private collections and the antique trade.
Leuchars London ® continues the traditions associated with the craft of case making.
