I love this 1980 Samsonite ad. The suitcase is not only dated, but so are many of the shopping treasures inside.
It’s so easy to forget that Made in Hong Kong used to be as prevalent as today’s Made in China, especially for electronics. I’m sure my 12 year-old son wouldn’t even know what that radio/cassette player is all about.
My grandparents last visited Hong Kong a couple years after this ad was made.
They didn’t bring me ceramic foo dogs, teapots, or decorative eggs, but I lucked out in other ways. I still have a couple wooden jewelry boxes inlaid with faux-ivory. They also brought me light blue satin dragon slippers and maroon Chinese padded jackets. I think I even got some fans like the one in this ad.
Of course, when I moved to Hong Kong and saw these things everywhere, they didn’t seem as extraordinary as they had when I was growing up in the middle of America. But they always made good gifts for people back home, especially those far from a Chinatown.
great vintage pic! i think i have owned everything in there at one stage or other – my foo dogs were turquoise and my fancy pen was a parker though. never had luxury luggage like this, we used bags (lighter) – we could only carry 20lbs, wonder how imelda marcos managed to travel with all those shoes!
I’ve never had fancy luggage, although I had a Samsonite rip-off about a third the size of this one. I also remember a radio/cassette player like this one. My grandparents bought several of those little jade trees you’d find at Yue Hwa or China Arts and Crafts. I loved those!