In the late 19th century, the Gladstone bag was developed as a small portmanteau, built over a rigid frame which could separate into two equal sections. It was made of stiff leather and often belted with lanyards.

The bag was named after William E. Gladstone (1809-1898), the four-times British Prime Minister, who traveled greatly.

In J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (1951) the character Holden Caulfield packs Gladstone bags when he leaves Pencey Prep. Salinger's own war-time experiences with kit bags may have prompted him to think of Gladstone bags.

Oscar Wilde refers to the Gladstone bag in his "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) "What a way for a fashionable painter to travel," exclaims Dorian "...a Gladstone bag and an Ulster!" citing two fashionable pieces of Victorian luggage.