Like most stylistic trends, monograms or initials on shirts once had a practical origin: to identify whose shirt it was when it was handled in the laundry.
Likewise, initials, crests or monograms on luggage and shooting accessories served the purpose of allowing servants, railway employees and others to identify the belongings of their patron or master when moving sporting goods and personal effects from house to house party, station to hotel or carriage to steamer.
Today, they add the final flourish to a beautiful item, especially leather goods, and indelibly identify something as yours for posterity. I still enjoy looking at my father’s old army trunk with his name stencilled on the lid or my great uncle’s Westley Richards cartridge bag with his initials on the flap.
Perhaps, one day, one of the younger members of my family will remember me fondly while contemplating my initials on an inherited cartridge bag or gun slip, or my family crest on a pair of silver cuff-links or a cigar box.
For it to be enhancing, rather than disfiguring, the application of a set of initials or a crest has to be done with precision and placed somewhere appropriate.
For things like gun slips, cartridge magazines and cartridge bags, the location is traditional and placement is obvious. They need to be visible when the item is placed on the floor, among many similar items, so that it may be easily and quickly identified.
For more personal luggage, like a soft briefcase or a rucksack, especially one of the high-value models or limited editions, which is very unlikely to be mistaken for another’s, the location of a personal identifier should be rather more subtle. We recommend placement where you can find it quickly but it does not need to advertise its presence to the world.
Tradition is all well and good but even at Westley Richards, we move with the times. Apple Air Tags are increasingly requested and we will soon be launching a bespoke leather pouch, which can be initialed and attached to an internal D-ring within the bag.
Initialing is done in-house, using custom-made brass stamps for each letter. The letters are placed in a mechanical press, which heats them to the desired temperature. They are then impressed into the leather by hand; experience informing the operative as to just how much heat, time and pressure is necessary to get the perfect impression on leather of a given thickness, rigidity or finish.
As well as a simple impressed stamping, we can incorporate black ink, gold or a clear, gloss finish to the initials, by using the appropriate foil. Stamping a new luggage item which may cost one or two thousand pounds is not a task for the feint of heart but experience has made our team very good at gauging exactly how to get the best result. It is another of those apparently simple jobs that when done well is barely noticed, but if done badly will ruin the entire creation.
Westley Richards is pleased to offer bespoke initialing to all leather items purchased by Explora Club members, free of charge. For existing members simply login to your shopping account and add initials to your leather good at no extra cost.
For those who wish to become a member and take advantage of this new member benefit, along with a host of others, head to the Explora Club page to join up with your email. We hope it brings just that little bit of immortality to what we are sure will become a family heirloom.
Westley Richards has been outfitting its clients for with fine leather goods as long as it has been building custom rifles and bespoke guns for them. Whether you are on safari in the African bush, in Paris for the weekend, or in New York on business, our heirloom quality leather luggage strikes the perfect balance between functionality, durability and timeless elegance. Made in our leather factory in Birmingham side by side with the gunmaking, the company offers a range of luxury travel bags made from leather and canvas, including holdalls, briefcases, backpacks, messenger bags and weekend bags. The perfect partner to our high quality safari wear and country clothing.
