Let's take your Case story back even further. My poppa, Douglas Ireland, teamed up with a mate (Mr Roberts) and began a company caled Rolands (put Roberts and Ireland together and you make Roland). They set up business in a factory initially in Hinemoa St in Birkenhead, then moving to Kahika Rd in Beachhaven as the business expanded. Over time my poppa (my mum's dad) took over the whole business. The relevance of this? Well, Rolands manufactured sporting goods (rugby balls, basketballs etc etc and bags. Team bags, bowls bags and suitcases. big suitcases and little suitcases. And funnily enough, while in the later years of the company the cases were made solely of hardboard stuff, in the early years they also made leather cases. To my untrained eye, leather cases just like the one in your photos. When my poppa got ill, he asked my dad to take over running the business, which he did. My poppa died when I was seven and my dad then ran the company alone. Unfortunately it was taken over by Brierly's and was closed. My dad bought alot of the old machinery and strated up the company in a smaller version in the factory unit next door to the old one, and called the company Ireland Manufacturing. In my teeange (and even earlier years), I would earn my pocket money making the corners for the cases, sorting the handles, testing the locks etc. While my parents finally closed their business about 5 years ago (The Warehouse killed it) there are still boxes of bag making gear and machinery in the shed at the back of the barn on my parents farm. Soo...while I can't help you with Agnes or the travels of the case, i can fill you in perhaps on the case's 'pre Agnes' history!!! Shannon
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Let's take your Case story back even further. My poppa, Douglas Ireland, teamed up with a mate (Mr Roberts) and began a company caled Rolands (put Roberts and Ireland together and you make Roland). They set up business in a factory initially in Hinemoa St in Birkenhead, then moving to Kahika Rd in Beachhaven as the business expanded. Over time my poppa (my mum's dad) took over the whole business. The relevance of this? Well, Rolands manufactured sporting goods (rugby balls, basketballs etc etc and bags. Team bags, bowls bags and suitcases. big suitcases and little suitcases. And funnily enough, while in the later years of the company the cases were made solely of hardboard stuff, in the early years they also made leather cases. To my untrained eye, leather cases just like the one in your photos. When my poppa got ill, he asked my dad to take over running the business, which he did. My poppa died when I was seven and my dad then ran the company alone. Unfortunately it was taken over by Brierly's and was closed. My dad bought alot of the old machinery and strated up the company in a smaller version in the factory unit next door to the old one, and called the company Ireland Manufacturing. In my teeange (and even earlier years), I would earn my pocket money making the corners for the cases, sorting the handles, testing the locks etc. While my parents finally closed their business about 5 years ago (The Warehouse killed it) there are still boxes of bag making gear and machinery in the shed at the back of the barn on my parents farm. Soo...while I can't help you with Agnes or the travels of the case, i can fill you in perhaps on the case's 'pre Agnes' history!!! Shannon
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