VINTAGE overseas suitcase with photographs and documents from the Märklin family, 1st half of the 20th century.

VINTAGE steamer trunk with photographs and documents from the Märklin family, 1st half of the 20th century, The brown steamer trunk with wood and brass fittings bears the initials E.M. (Elisabeth Märklin) and the numbers 13104 and was probably made around 1900-1920. Dimensions: 96 x 50 x 31 cm, signs of age, damaged. Key not included. Richard Märklin emigrated to the USA in 1927/28 to sell Märklin imported toys in New York under the name 'Richard Märklin Toys'. His first entry was made on his voyage from Southampton to New York on October 1, 1927, on the S.S. Berengaria. The business probably existed until the end of the 1930s. According to records, he returned to Germany several times (www.marklinstop.com, accessed on October 23, 2025). The suitcase could be an indication that his wife accompanied him, but there is no information about the date of their marriage. How long their stay in the USA lasted is unknown, nor is how long the company existed in New York (the last entries date from 1936 and 1939). According to the enclosed documents from the Turnerbund (gymnastics association), Richard Märklin must have lived in Germany again in the 1950s and 1960s. Also enclosed are various photos of the family from the 1920s to 1950s, a letter from US friends, as well as a household book of Elisabeth Märklin (?) with the entry 'Richard nach Eßlingen' from 1914, which is unlikely to have been written by Elisabeth, who was only 10 years old at the time. Perhaps a more detailed analysis of the available documents could fill in the gaps in the biographical data.