Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Sometimes called “knock-down” furniture, campaign furniture was designed to be folded, collapsed, taken apart and packed flat to load onto a ship or a camel’s back. Although mobile furniture for military campaigns dates back to the Romans, the British Army in its global conquests in the 18th and 19th centuries defined the style with sturdy and elegant pieces. Even in a tent thousands of miles from London, a four-poster bed, dining table and seating could simulate the comforts of home.
Antique and vintage campaign-style furniture was also initially designed as propaganda. The mahogany and teak structures were part of a purposeful demonstration of power in these campaigns, with the colonizing military officers imposing their culture and view of what they considered “civilized” on a given land and its peoples. Designers and manufacturers including Thomas Butler, Ross & Co. of Dublin, and Morgan & Sanders contributed to the rapid production of this furniture as the British Empire expanded through Africa, Asia and Australia.
Campaign furniture was utilitarian as well as refined, fitted with recessed brass handles and brass angles on stackable chests and other case pieces to protect vulnerable corners. The Wellington chest was one of the most famous pieces to come out of this style, named for the Duke of Wellington, who slept in his campaign bed long after his battles were over.
The flexibility of campaign-style furniture would influence 20th-century Scandinavian modernists such as Kaare Klint, Mogens Koch and Arne Norell. For his 1930s Safari chair, Klint drew on the simple Roorkhee chair, named for a town in northern India. The lightweight and adaptable campaign-style seat was created in the late 19th century and had no fixed joinery. The Roorkhee’s influence can also be seen in the Wassily chair, a pared-down work of tubular metal and durable canvas conceived by legendary Bauhaus instructor Marcel Breuer.
Now, 21st-century designers like Jomo Tariku and Dokter and Misses are creating pieces that recognize the contributions of African artisans to campaign furniture in order to reframe this style without overlooking its difficult past.
Find a collection of authentic antique and vintage campaign bedroom furniture, chairs, decorative objects and other pieces on 1stDibs.
Early 20th Century English Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1880s British Indian Ocean Territory Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Leather, Fruitwood
19th Century Russian Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1880s English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Steel
19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Metal, Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century European Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Teak
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Oak
1930s English Vintage Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Wood
1970s Vintage Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Copper
19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Steel
Late 19th Century European Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Metal
1840s Chinese Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Wood
Early 19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass, Metal
1850s Scandinavian Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Tin
Early 19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Metal, Brass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1820s English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Late 19th Century Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
Early 20th Century French Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1940s Vintage Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Aluminum
19th Century Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Hardwood
19th Century Russian Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Malachite, Bronze
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1930s English Vintage Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Wood
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Other
Mid-20th Century European Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Teak
Early 20th Century American Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
Early 1900s French Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Metal, Brass, Iron
Early 1900s European Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Steel, Zinc
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Other
Mid-20th Century Italian Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
Early 1900s Unknown Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Other
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass, Copper
1880s English Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
Late 20th Century American Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
19th Century Antique Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass
1920s Vintage Campaign Trunks and Luggage
Brass