Erie Railroad brass baggage tag

Marked "The Property of the Erie Railroad Company." A late 19th-century or early 20th-century brass railroad baggage tag manufactured by "J. ROBBINS MFG. CO. BOSTON," a prominent American manufacturer founded by John Robbins. He was one of the earliest commercial pioneers of metal baggage checks in the United States. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, railroads used brass tags like this to track passenger luggage. The company attached one tag to the bag with a leather strap and handed a matching tag to the passenger as a claim check.