In the 1980’s I could be sitting in an airport anywhere in the world and recognize a fellow Upjohn employee by their alligator bag. That alligator skin look was unique to The Upjohn Company and very distinctive. It started in 1910 when head of sales George McClelland decided his salesmen should have a badge of distinction. He designed a bag that used alligator skin. After the Second World War the bags were made from calf skin with alligator grain. There are always a couple of these calf skin bags for sale on eBay if you want to own a special piece of Upjohn history.

In Don Parfet's collection he has two of the pre-WWII Upjohn bags made from real alligator skin, shown below. There are no markings on them to indicate who made these bags for the company.

The Upjohn bag below in Carol Orris's collection is a bit of a mystery. It's different to any other one. It does not appear to be real alligator skin, as the pre-WWII Upjohn bags were made from. However, it is not one of the familar alligator-grain bags made from calf skin.

Below are photos of post-WWII calf skin Upjohn bags. There were various different types and sizes.

In 1986 as part of the centennial celebrations a miniature cardboard relica of the famous alligator bag was produced. It contains a selection of over-the-counter Upjohn products. The one below was for sale on eBay in 2014.