The Empress Eugénie's Personal Box Maker

Louis’ skilled craftsmanship caught the eye Empress Eugénie of France who appointed Vuitton as her personal box maker and packer. As a result, the name and brand of Louis Vuitton became synonymous with luxury. For more than 150 years, the brand has continued to create some of the most luxurious travelling trunks. Dreweatts has been delighted to sell a 1960s Louis Vuitton wardrobe trunk which is fitted with brass hardware, leather trim and included six drawers, nine clothes hangers and a removable shoe box. The trunk sold at auction for £10,625. Another excellent example of the craftsmanship can be seen in this Louis Vuitton yellow canvas steamer trunk from the early 20^th century which includes a label to the interior ‘Paris 1, Rue Scribe, Louis Vuitton, 149, New Bond Street, W., London’ marking both the Paris and London flagship stores at the time. This trunk sold at auction for £16,250.

A Packing Revolution

Trunks for travelling were traditionally made with dome-shaped tops to allow rainwater and mud to roll off during transport on stagecoaches, but as travel by train and ocean liner became increasingly common, Louis introduced a new rectangular trunk which instantly became the norm. An excellent example of a rectangular hard travelling trunk style sold at auction with Dreweatts for £2,772.  It included a striped canvas covering with metal trim and wood slats. Due to the brands soaring popularity, a new workshop at Asnières was established in 1859 with 20 employees, however by 1914, the Asnières atelier had grown substantially, consisting of 225 employees. While part of the property has become a museum, honouring the brands history, to this day it remains an active workshop comprising 170 craftspeople that create iconic Louis Vuitton pieces for clients globally.

The Tumbler Lock

After the opening of the first shop outside of France in London in 1885, Louis’ son George joined the firm. Louis and George recognised that whilst trunks were extremely practical for travelling, they unfortunately attracted thieves. So, in 1886 they created ‘The Tumbler Lock’ which included a single lock system with two springs. After several years of development, George patented the design and was so confident in its effectiveness that he challenged Harry Houdini to try escaping from a trunk that featured it. Whilst Houdini didn’t rise to the challenge, the lock has proven to be highly effective and is still used to this day. The Tumbler lock can be seen on this 20^th century monogrammed canvas coated travelling trunk which sold at auction for £7,812.

The ‘Damier’ Design

In 1888, the firm introduced a series of signature canvases in order to curb imitations, culminating with the famous checkerboard 'Damier' design. The iconic design can be seen on this Louis Vuitton canvas and wooden trunk which sold at Dreweatts for £11,250 and on this Louis Vuitton canvas hard travel case with leather trim and a loop handle which sold for £2,000. Almost a century later, in 1998, Damier was reintroduced as the ‘Damier Ebène’ and has graced various luggage designs and many of the iconic handbag designs such as ‘Neverfull’, ‘Keepall’ and ‘Speedy.

The Interlocking LV Initials

Upon Louis’ death in 1892, George assumed leadership and introduced Louis Vuitton to America at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He also introduced a new canvas with the iconic, interlocking ‘LV’ initials, alternating with diamond points and quatrefoil flowers, in honour of his father. This signature canvas has since featured on many of Louis Vuitton's most exclusive creations. The interlocking ‘LV’ initials can be seen on this monogrammed coated canvas vanity case which sold at auction for £2,016.

Elevating the luxury market

Louis Vuitton has captivated the luxury market with its complimentary in-house personalisation service, allowing customers to customise their iconic hard-sided canvas luggage with initials and signature stripes. The blend of personalised touches and the timeless monogrammed LV canvas results in a truly distinctive statement piece. An example of which sold at auction with Dreweatts for £5,625 in the form of a leather and brass bound hatbox.

The luxury market continues to be captivated by unique and collectible creations, such as this monogrammed cigar humidor, which fetched £3,472 at auction. Other standout pieces include the rare ‘Malle Fleurs Trunk,’ which was originally designed in the 1910s for select clients to elegantly display flowers. These trunks were specially adapted with water-resistant metal trays to accommodate soil and water. Dreweatts recently sold a miniature version of the Malle Fleurs trunk for £6,000. Another charming example is this monogrammed, canvas-coated wine case, which has been personalised with the initials ‘A.I.’ and adorned with a hand-painted floral motif on the front which sold for £2,250.

A Global Luxury Brand

The firm remained under family leadership throughout most of the 20^th century, guided by Louis Vuitton’s grandson, Gaston-Louis Vuitton. However, in 1987 Louis Vuitton merged with Moët Hennessy, a product of another merger with champagne producers Moët & Chandon and cognac producers Hennessy.  Together the brands are known as LVMH and today the LMVH conglomerate manages over 70 brands including Christian Dior, Givenchy, Loewe, TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. The Louis Vuitton brand has continued to succeed with the help of renowned designers such as Mark Jacobs, Virgil Abloh, John Galliano and Pharrell Williams. The success of Louis Vuitton at Dreweatts’ auctions ultimately demonstrates the brand’s well-earned reputation as the epitome of fashion and luxury.

Louis Vuitton Auction Highlights

Dreweatts Auctions

Dreweatts regularly offers luxury accessories from brands such as Louis Vuitton at auctions, with previews at our gallery on Pall Mall, London and at our country-house salerooms in Newbury. The market for luxury accessories is truly global and Dreweatts operates at both a local and an international level, with buyers and consignors from all over the world.

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