Original Vintage Louis Vuitton Vachetta Leather Trunk/Table

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Original Vintage Louis Vuitton Vachetta Leather Trunk/Table

About the Item

Wonderful authentic vintage French Louis Vuitton vachetta leather traveling trunk. This outstanding trunk has a gorgeous patina showing years of use, it is in great condition retaining it's original interior lining with it's removable tray. Perfect utilized as it is for transporting your possessions in style to your next destination, or you may allow our in-house Old Plank Road craftsmen to make a custom stand, transforming this trunk into a unique coffee or sofa table. Vachetta leather which has been left untreated makes it more susceptible to water, staining, and darkening with exposure to sunlight, it was popularized by Louis Vuitton as a primary leather still utilized today in his luggage and handbags.

The French firm of Louis Vuitton, making prestigious luggage and leather accessories since the middle of the 19th century, has been much overshadowed by its merger with Moët-Hennessey to become Moët-Hennessey Louis Vuitton (LVMH). Yet long before the merging of like-minded luxury companies, Louis Vuitton had established itself as an enduring purveyor of quality goods for the most discerning clientele.

Young Louis Vuitton first came to Paris in 1837, in the year in which stage and mail coach travel was to be transformed by the opening of the first railway line in France, from Paris to St. Germain, to passenger traffic. Vuitton became an apprentice layetier, or luggage packer, to the prominent households of Paris at a time when journeys could take many months and require endless changes of wardrobe. He established such a reputation in this work that he was appointed by the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, as official layetier to his wife, the Empress Eugenie.

Vuitton acquired expert knowledge of what made a good traveling case and started to design luggage, opening his workshops to the general public in 1854 to provide luggage suitable for a new age of travel. Vuitton designed the first flat trunks that could be easily stacked in railway carriages and in the holds of ocean liners. Made of wood and covered in a new distinctive canvas called "Trianon Grey," this particular traveling trunk superseded the dome-shaped, cumbersome trunks originally designed for the stage coach.

So successful and prestigious was this luggage that other trunk makers began to copy Vuitton's style and designs, a problem the firm bearing his name was still dealing with over a century later. In 1876 Vuitton responded to the imitators by changing the Trianon Grey canvas to a striped design in beige and brown. The problem, however, persisted and in 1888, Vuitton adopted another canvas—a checkerboard pattern with the words "Marque deposée Louis Vuitton" interwoven through the material.

When George Vuitton took over the family firm on his father's death in 1892, imitation of company products was still a major problem, and four years later he designed and took out worldwide patents on the now legendary Louis Vuitton canvas featuring his father's initials against background motifs of stars and flowers. This innovative design had the effect of stopping all imitations until the 1960s, when counterfeiting became a serious problem once again. The firm launched an offensive, employing a team of lawyers and special investigation agencies to actively pursue offenders through law courts all over the world, which continues to this day.

Methods of manufacture have changed little since the 19th century. Suitcases are still made by hand; the craftsmen line up the leather and canvas, tapping in the tiny nails one by one and securing the five-lever solid pick-proof brass locks with an individual handmade key, designed to allow the traveler to have only one key for all his or her luggage. The wooden frames of each trunk are made of 30-year-old poplar dried for at least four years. Each trunk has a serial number and can take up to 60 hours to make, and a suitcase as many as 15 hours.

Although the luggage collection has always offered extensive choice, Louis Vuitton has been creating special made-to-order hard-sided luggage since 1854. Congo explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (1852-1905) commissioned a combined trunk and bed from the company, and in 1936 for American conductor Leopold Stokowski's travels, Gaston Vuitton designed a traveling secretary. When opened, the extraordinary design revealed two shelves for books, three drawers for documents and musical scores, and a vertical compartment to store a typewriter. The gate-legged table which completed the instant workstation folded into the door.

**In images 9 & 10 there is a wooden stick holding the lid open, it is only used as a prop.

Dimensions:
Height: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Width: 44.25 in (112.4 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1920's
Condition:
In very nice original condition, though no key.
Seller Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
Seller: crjb1661stDibs: U10021282432608