Leatheroid Trunk, c. 1920
Brick Store Museum Collection, Gift of Kathy Ostrander, 2004.

The Leatheroid Manufacturing Company was in business along the banks of Kennebunk's Mousam River from 1884 until 1915, when it became part of Rogers Fibre Company. Leatheroid was a product created from chemically treated thicknesses of cotton paper that ended up being "hard as rawhide, nearly as elastic as whalebone, and very much like horn in texture." Highly durable, Leatheroid had many uses, including in mill baskets, roving cans, steamer trunks (as pictured here), shoe counters, warehouse cars, wastebaskets, canoes, and more.

This trunk was featured in The Brick Store Museum's Made in Kennebunk exhibition in 2004. CLICK HERE to download and print a pattern of this trunk that you can cut out, fold, and use to create a mini version! (PDF file, 2.11 mb)