Wallet

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A wallet or billfold is a small (usually pocket-sized) flat case used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards and driver's licenses for frequent quick access. Wallets are generally made of leather or textiles such as Polyvinyl chloride.

History The word "wallet" has been in use since the 14th century to mean a bag or a knapsack for carrying articles, and the word possibly derives from Proto-Germanic language. The ancient Greek word kibisis, used to describe the sack carried by the god Hermes and the sack in which the mythical hero Perseus carried the decapitated head of the monster Medusa, has been typically translated as "wallet". Usage of the term "wallet" in its modern meaning of "billfold" in American English dates to 1834.

Billfolds were developed almost immediately after the introduction of Banknote to the West in the 1600s. (The first paper currency was introduced in the New World by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690.) Prior to the introduction of paper currency, purses (usually simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storing coins. Early wallets were made primarily of cow or horse leather and included a small pouch for printed Visiting card.

The modern bi-fold wallet with multiple "card slots" achieved its uniform standard size in the early 1950s with the introduction of the first credit cards in 1951. Wallet design remained mostly unchanged throughout most of the late 20th century, while today wallet design has exploded into myriad shapes, designs, and colours from dozens of designers.

Some innovations include: the introduction of the velcro wallet in the 1970s.

Varieties The key constraints on the design of a wallet are the need to hold bills and credit cards (if it does not contain them, it's more often classed as a type of money clip), and fitting into a pocket (or handbag).

Breast wallet (or secretary wallet): a wallet where the bills are not folded; intended for men's breast pocket (in a jacket, not a shirt), or for a handbag. These are elegant and flat, but too large for storage in a pant pocket.
Bi-fold: bills are folded over once; "standard" wallet; credit cards may be stored horizontally or vertically
Tri-fold: this may be a bi-fold wallet with an extra fold, or the bills may be folded over twice (and credit cards are generally stored vertically)
Front Pocket Wallet or Money Clip: a small money piece with no currency compartment and very few pockets for cards. Usually bills are folded and held to the wallet with a metal clip. This wallet is designed to fit in a front pants pocket, and is very popular with younger men.

Some wallets, particularly in Europe (where larger denominated coins are more prevalent) contain a coin purse compartment.

Some wallets have built-in clasps or bands to keep them closed.

As European bills (pound sterlings, euros) are larger than American bills in one dimension, they don't fit in some smaller American wallets.

Beyond basic design, a wide variety of materials and designs is used.

Features A wallet generally has one or more:

Currency pockets
Credit card pockets, which may be oriented vertically or horizontally, and my be slide pockets
ID pockets, which have a see-through window
Photo pockets, which are designed to hold a collection of photographs. At least on manufacturer offers a built in digital picture viewer .
Coin pockets
Key holders
Money clips
Chains, to secure the wallet from loss or theft

Pickpockets Pickpockets frequently target wallets, so some wallet owners attach them to their belts with small chains or place the wallet in an inside pocket which cannot be easily reached without the owner noticing. Another anti-pickpocket strategy is to replace the traditional leather wallet with one of the newer design thin wallets, effectively concealing the wallets location from would be pickpockets. Some travellers replace wallets with money belts, to further conceal and protect their belongings.

Unusual materials Most wallets sold in stores are made of leather or fabrics, but some individuals create their own wallets from other materials that one can easily find around the house, such as duct tape and playing cards.

Another trend popular among graduate students and indigents is to use Crown Royal or other assorted bags as wallets. The tie strings may be wrapped around the bag to secure the wallet's contents. It is believed that these wallets are an homage to Ernest Hemingway, who would use various small bags in his travels . This approach has notable advantages and disadvantages. For example, many people fail to recognize that the bags are actually wallets and may contain important documents or items of monetary value. The stigmatism, however, of such bags often cause people to mistake them as dime bags or other containers which hold drug paraphernalia.

Designers of wallets Wallets are seen as a key fashion accessory and nowadays most major designer labels including Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani offer seasonal collections and also perennial collections (usually black and brown leather wallets). Within the UK, the most popular wallets are made by Mulberry, Radley, Paul Smith (fashion designer), Ted Baker, and Billabong (clothing). Within the US popular designers include Guess (clothing), Burberry, Perry Ellis, Kenneth Cole and Fossil.

In addition there are a number of specialist designers that have collections of unique wallets include Ducti, who create wallets made from duct tape, J Fold, that offer a large range of colourful leather wallets, and Stewart-Stand, a New York design house that design wallets made from woven stainless steel.

Today, almost every major retailer has a wide selection of men's wallets available. Major retailers (such as the UK's John Lewis Partnership or Neiman Marcus in USA) usually offer branded wallets and own branded wallets. These own branded wallets often have same function, quality, and design of fashion brand wallets, but without the high price ticket. There are also stores that specialise in offering wallets such as KJ Beckett and Hudsons Leather Shop.

Trivia In May 1931, whilst directing his latest play Cavalcade at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the English actor, playwright and composer of popular music Noel Coward, lost a black leather wallet. Coward reported the loss to the theatre manager and offered a 10-shilling reward to anybody who found it. The theatre manager noted the offer of a reward together with a description of the wallet and its contents in his appointment diary. When he lost it, Coward’s wallet contained two five-pound notes, three one-pound notes and five ten-shilling notes. In addition to the money, Coward's wallet also contained several telephone numbers jotted onto scraps of paper. In February 1981 during pre-production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, American actor Henderson Forsythe found Noel Coward’s missing wallet stuffed inside of a broken tuba that had fallen upon him whilst he had been rummaging in a storage cupboard. The wallet contained the exact amount of money reported missing. Curiously, Coward’s wallet also contained a small studio photograph of disgraced former MP Horatio Bottomley. Before his death, Noel Coward had never publicly acknowledged any connection with Bottomley. The discovery of the wallet provoked speculation that Noel Coward had been planning a dramatic performance about Bottomley’s strange life. This speculation arose because at the time that Cavalcade was playing at the Theatre Royal, Bottomley was appearing in cheap music halls nearby, performing a bizarre one-man show about himself. Horatio Bottomley died in May 1933 and no record of a Coward penned musical about his life has ever been discovered.Oscar G. Brockett & Franklin J. Hildy, History of the Theatre (9th Edition) (Allyn & Bacon, 2002),p.193.

See also

Notes

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