Briefcase

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>Briefcases are descendants of the limp <a href="/facts/Satchel/aXCNC3ns">satchel</a> used in the fourteenth century for carrying money and valuables. It was called a "budget", derived from the Latin word "bulga" or Irish word "bolg", both meaning leather bag (in Irish it also means 'stomach'), and also the source of the financial term "<a href="/facts/Budget/5wR3hBvM">budget</a>".
</p><p>Godillot of Paris was the first to use a hinged iron frame on a <a href="/facts/Carpet_bag/qa8cvCk1">carpet bag</a> in 1826. There then followed the <a href="/facts/Gladstone_bag/dRFJU10g">Gladstone bag</a> and the Rosebery, an oval-top bag. Eventually these became the modern metal-framed briefcase. The first of what is known as the modern rectangular briefcase is said to have been invented in the late 1850s. In 2014, the global business bag market was $9.4 billion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="types">Types</h2>
<ul><li>A portfolio is a handleless case for carrying in the hand or under the arm.</li>
<li>A folio case is a portfolio with a retractable handle.</li>
<li>An attaché case (or sometimes called diplomat case) is a box-style case characteristically made of leather fitted over an internal hinged frame that opens into two compartments. It was traditionally carried by an <i><a href="/facts/Attach%25C3%25A9/fMnQSfVr">attaché</a></i>, a diplomatic officer attached to an embassy or consulate officially assigned to serve in a particular capacity (e.g., <a href="/facts/Cultural_attach%25C3%25A9/hzsV1R9Y">cultural attaché</a>; <a href="/facts/Military_attach%25C3%25A9/qlaEdntl">military attaché</a>). Frameless aluminum is also used.  In recent years, leather pouches (usually slightly larger than a sheet of <a href="/facts/A4_paper/jsfzqPxA">A4 paper</a>) with a zipper sealed compartment have been referred to as attachés or poche document holders.</li>
<li>A catalog case or catalogue case is a large (deep) attaché case.</li></ul>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Backpack/uvI4lVWl">Backpack</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Messenger_bag/4b60w5Q3">Messenger bag</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Nuclear_briefcase/vInpjFJE">Nuclear briefcase</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Red_box_(government)/xKtmXerd">Red box (government)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Suitcase/zlXfwKoK">Suitcase</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tablet_case/CPXM865s">Tablet case</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li> Media related to Briefcases at Wikimedia Commons</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Bain, Mark (25 March 2015). "The story behind the red box that Lee Kuan Yew carried everywhere". Quartz. Retrieved 25 March 2015. <a href="https://qz.com/369188/the-story-behind-the-red-box-that-lee-kuan-yew-carried-everywhere/" target="_blank">https://qz.com/369188/the-story-behind-the-red-box-that-lee-kuan-yew-carried-everywhere/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Briefcase open-in-new

Briefcase