Godillot of Paris was the first to use a hinged iron frame on a carpet bag in 1826. There then followed the Gladstone bag and the Rosebery, an oval-top bag. Eventually these became the modern metal-framed briefcase.

While the concept of a "briefcase" has evolved over centuries, the modern rectangular, hinged case we recognize today has its roots in the 19th-century "dispatch box" and the innovations of English luggage makers. The term "briefcase" itself gained popularity in the late 1800s as a nickname for the bags lawyers used to carry their "legal briefs." Historically, one of the most significant contributors to the briefcase's evolution was the British company Barrow and Gale, founded in 1750, which famously manufactured the "Red Box" used by British Chancellors to carry budget papers since 1860. However, the true ancestor of the modern leather briefcase is often traced back to the Roman "Loculus," a small satchel made of a single goat or calf hide used by soldiers to carry personal belongings. In the mid-19th century, Jeremy Bentham is sometimes credited with using one of the earliest "modern" document cases, but it was the Industrial Revolution that standardized the design for a new class of professional businessmen. By the early 20th century, the "attaché case"—named after the diplomatic officers who used them—became the standard for carrying documents, eventually leading to the sleek, structured designs used in global commerce today.