Miya Pearson
The invention of the sleeping bag was spurred by the demands of exploration and mountaineering. For millennia, people relied on animal skins to keep warm at night. In the 19th century, people turned to blankets. The first sleeping bag was developed by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who sewed sealskin blankets together to make three-person sleeping bags. In 1876, Pryce Jones patented a sewn blanket sleeping bag with an in-sewn airtight pillow. In 1898, Sarah Winters filed and was granted a patent for a sleeping bag of her creation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First forerunner of the modern sleeping bag | Pryce Pryce-Jones, a Welsh entrepreneur, patented the Euklisia Rug in 1876 |
| First commercially successful sleeping bag | Pryce Pryce-Jones, a Welsh inventor, created the Euklisia Rug in the 1870s |
| Proto-sleeping bag | Crimea Wrapper, marketed by Elverys Sports in Ireland in the 1850s |
| First commercial sleeping bag | Produced by Norwegian company G. Fuglesang AS in 1855 |
| First recorded use of down-filled bags | 1892 |
| First commercial producers of sleeping bags with an insulating filling | Ajungilak, a Norwegian company, in 1890 |
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What You'll Learn
The first sleeping bags were animal skins
The first forerunner of the modern sleeping bag was the "Euklisia Rug", patented by mail-order pioneer Pryce Pryce-Jones in 1876. It was a sewn blanket sleeping bag with an in-sewn airtight pillow. Jones exported the rug around the world in the late 19th century. He sold 60,000 rugs to the Russian army, and the British army also bought them. There are also records of civilian uses among missionaries in Africa and pioneers in the Australian outback.
The first commercial producers of sleeping bags with insulating filling were Ajungilak, a Norwegian company, in about 1890. The fillings of these bags were typically plant material such as kapok, which was also used as mattress filling. Down- or feather-filled bags appeared soon after, with the first recorded use in 1892 by Albert Mummery.
The evolution of the sleeping bag has been thousands of years in the making. From animal skins to blankets, down, and synthetic fills, the technology has advanced to meet the demands of exploration and mountaineering. Today, sleeping bags are designed to balance breathability with moisture resistance, light weight with insulating properties, and cost.
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The Euklisia Rug was a forerunner of the modern sleeping bag
The history of the sleeping bag is a long one, with the use of animal skins to keep warm at night dating back millennia. However, the forerunner of the modern sleeping bag is often considered to be the Euklisia Rug, first patented in 1876 by Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones.
Pryce-Jones was a Newtown, Montgomeryshire Welsh entrepreneur and mail-order pioneer. His invention, the Euklisia Rug, was a wool blanket with a pocket at the top for a sewn-in, inflatable rubber pillow. Users simply climbed in, folded the blanket over their bodies, and fastened the sides together. This design eliminated the hassle of climbing into a traditional sack-like sleeping bag. The name "Euklisia Rug" comes from the Ancient Greek "εὖ" (well) and "κλισία" (cot or sleeping place).
The Euklisia Rug was a commercial success, with Pryce-Jones selling 60,000 rugs to the Russian army for use during the Siege of Plevna in the Russo-Turkish War. The British army also purchased the rugs, and they were used by civilians, including missionaries in Africa and pioneers in the Australian Outback. Despite this success, no original examples of the rug appear to have survived. However, researchers on the BBC Wales Television series, Wales and the History of the World, recreated the rug using the original patent.
The Euklisia Rug was just one of Pryce Jones' business innovations. He is also known for producing the world's first mail-order catalogues in the 1860s, earning him the title of "father of mail-order shopping".
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Pryce Pryce-Jones was a mail-order pioneer
Pryce Pryce-Jones, a Welsh entrepreneur from Newtown, Montgomeryshire, is known as a mail-order pioneer. He is credited with creating the first mail-order catalogue in 1861, using the railway and parcel post to deliver goods to customers in isolated rural locations. This innovative use of the postal system and railways allowed Pryce-Jones to build a vast customer base, including notable figures such as Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria, the Princess of Wales, and royal households across Europe. By 1880, he had over 100,000 customers in the UK alone.
Pryce Pryce-Jones's business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit led to significant success and expansion. He was the first to sell by mail order on a large scale, dispatching goods by train and parcel post. To accommodate his growing enterprise, Pryce-Jones constructed a warehouse with its own post office next to the railway line. His business ventures also extended beyond mail-order, as he began selling Welsh flannel from Newtown to international markets such as America and Australia.
The impact of Pryce Pryce-Jones's innovations on the global mail-order industry is undeniable. He is credited with pioneering a billion-pound industry, utilising the advancements in postal services and transportation to revolutionise the way goods were sold and delivered. His success in the mail-order business also led to recognition in other areas. In 1887, Queen Victoria acknowledged his achievements by bestowing upon him a knighthood, and he became Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones.
In addition to his business accomplishments, Pryce Pryce-Jones contributed to society in various other ways. He represented the Montgomery Boroughs as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1886 and again from 1892 to 1895. He also served as the High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1891. Pryce Pryce-Jones's legacy extends beyond his lifetime, as the building he constructed in 1879, the Royal Welsh Warehouse, stood as a testament to his enterprise until 2011 when it housed a different mail-order company.
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The French created the first sleeping bags as we know them
The history of the sleeping bag is a long and complex one, with many different cultures and individuals contributing to its development over millennia. However, it can be said that the French created the first sleeping bags as we know them today.
In the 1850s, French customs officials patrolling the Pyrenees between Spain and France needed to keep warm overnight. They created a knapsack bag from sheepskin, with a wool interior and buckles that allowed them to roll it up during the day. This early prototype of the modern sleeping bag was designed to meet the demands of exploration and mountaineering, a common need in the Pyrenees mountain range.
The French customs officials' invention of the sleeping bag was further developed in the late 19th century. In 1876, Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones patented the "Euklisia Rug," which is considered by many to be the first modern sleeping bag. The design was a sewn blanket sleeping bag with an in-sewn inflatable pillow, which users could climb into and then fasten closed. Pryce-Jones sold 60,000 of these bags to the Russian army, and they were also used by the British army and civilians in Africa and Australia.
The evolution of the sleeping bag continued with the introduction of insulating fillings in the late 19th century. Camel hair, a natural insulator, was utilised in woven blankets, and the first commercial sleeping bags with insulating filling were produced by the Norwegian company Ajungilak around 1890. The development of the sleeping bag continued into the 20th century, with the introduction of specialist designs for high-demand users and cheaper, lesser-quality bags for trampers and campers.
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The bags have been influenced by the Inuit
The sleeping bag has evolved from animal skins to the down- and synthetic-filled bags we know today. For millennia, people relied on animal skins to keep warm at night. The Inuit, a group of indigenous people living in the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska, are known for their highly engineered animal skin clothing, which is more efficient at keeping out the cold than even the most expensive modern snow gear.
Inuit clothing is designed to minimize openings to the outside world, with no pockets and often no opening at the front of jackets, just a hole for the face. The Inuit use the skin of marine mammals for clothes that touch the skin because it is more porous and allows sweat to evaporate. The skin of land mammals, which is tougher, is used for outer shoes and boots.
Inuit clothing also makes heavy use of motifs, which are figures or patterns incorporated into the overall design of the garment through contrasting inserts, beadwork, embroidery, appliqué, or dyeing. These motifs have been influenced by contact with First Nations peoples and non-Inuit traders and explorers beginning in the late 1500s.
The first recorded use of down-filled sleeping bags was in 1892, and the first commercial producers of sleeping bags with insulating filling were a Norwegian company in the 1890s. However, it is likely that the Inuit and other indigenous Arctic peoples were using animal skins as sleeping bags for thousands of years before that.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several claimants to the title of having invented the sleeping bag. Some sources suggest that the first prototype was developed by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen in 1888. Nansen and his friends designed their own equipment before skiing across Greenland, inspired by the way the local Inuit people slept under sealskin blankets. Another forerunner of the modern sleeping bag was the "Euklisia Rug", patented by Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones in 1876. The first commercial sleeping bags with an insulating filling were produced by the Norwegian company Ajungilak in about 1890.
Early sleeping bags did not look like the ones we use today. Nansen's invention was a three-person sleeping bag, while Pryce-Jones's "Euklisia Rug" was more like a folded rug. Pryce-Jones's design was also fitted with an airtight pillow. In the 1930s, sleeping bags were designed in the shape of a child's romper suit, with arms and legs.
In 1898, Sarah Winters filed and was granted a patent for a sleeping bag of her creation. Winters' sleeping bag was made of cloth-covered quilted eiderdown (goose or duck feathers) and included interior pockets and flaps that could be fastened shut, completely enclosing the person.
