Louis Vuitton Celebrates 100 Legendary Trunks

From trains and legendary ocean liners, to automobiles and the first aircraft, the Louis Vuitton trunk has crossed time and borders. In 1854, Louis Vuitton, “layetier, trunk-maker, and packer,” offered a modern trunk that combined pragmatism and elegance, perfectly adapted to the current means of transport and changes in the lives his clients led. The House of Vuitton has served explorers and adventurers, princes, dandies, elegant ladies, and artists of all kinds. The Maharaja of Baroda, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Douglas Fairbanks, Ernest Hemingway, Jeanne Lanvin -even Damien Hirst and Sharon Stone have traveled with Vuitton.

The House of Vuitton is now releasing LOUIS VUITTON: 100 LEGENDARY TRUNKS, and it’s officially on my Christmas wish list.

This book, with a preface by Patrick-Louis Vuitton, show-cases the most beautiful creations of the House through more than eight hundred photographs. The trunk-bed, steamer trunk, tea case, toiletry kit, circus trunk, library trunk, and caviar box are just a few of the many incredible pieces featured here, along with the equally incredible stories of their creation. A full technical survey, the bible of the artisanal trunkmaker, reveals the secrets of making a Louis Vuitton trunk. The exclusive edition for Louis Vuitton stores features a silkscreened cover and hard slipcase printed with Monogram canvas, reinterpreted from the 1896 original pattern.

From the first domed trunks to the most modern designs produced in the workshops of Asnières today, the spirit of the House of Louis Vuitton is still driven by the same reputation for excellence and expertise – and a desire to elevate travel to an art.

And, now the reason why Louis fanatics need to book a trip to France: from October 13, 2010 to February 27, 2011, the Parisian luxury house is staging an exhibition at the Carnavalet museum: Voyage En Capitale: Louis Vuitton and Paris.