Louis Vuitton Folk Art

Stackable travel trunks were the first products crafted by the renowned French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. Today, vintage Louis Vuitton trunks, which became available as railway travel was gaining popularity in the 1850s, are typically used as practical pieces of furniture or welcoming decor in modern homes.

The young Louis Vuitton (1821–92), who was born in Anchay, France, and founded his packing company in Paris in 1854 after apprenticing as a packer and box maker, began to make travel trunks as train travel expanded during the 19th century. Offering these new goods in his retail space on rue Neuve des Capucines would meet the demands of the clients who were shuffling on and off railcars in the country’s bustling capital. Trains as well as steamships were carrying travelers near and far, and Vuitton’s handcrafted rectangular trunks — an improvement on the standard round trunks, which didn’t store well — were soon coveted by the modern nomad. Initially, the wood trunks featured gray trianon canvas and, then, striped canvas of varying colors before they would proudly wear the famous Louis Vuitton monogram (integral to determining the authenticity of the brand’s revered handbags).

Louis Vuitton’s upright trunks — a variation on the brand’s first trunks that were introduced in 1858 — made for proper transportation of garments and doubled as actual wardrobes, ensuring that the finery of the day traveled wrinkle-free. Regardless of the orientation, the popular steamer trunks were equipped with bands to secure travel documents as well as convenient shelves and compartments of varying sizes for every possible traveling necessity, including barware.

In 1929, orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski commissioned Georges Vuitton to design a special trunk. Georges was the only son of Louis Vuitton and had taken over the company’s operations when his father died in 1892. This special commission would yield no ordinary piece of luggage: Stokowski was music director of the Philadelphia orchestra, conducted the classical works for Walt Disney’s Fantasia and would help form the New York City Symphony.

He traveled the world with frequency and basically needed a portable office. Thus, the Secretaire Stokowski was covered in rugged canvas that was branded with the famous Louis Vuitton insignia, featured hardware in solid brass and stood over two feet tall. It was fitted with a foldout desk (subsequent models offered a desk finished in solid beech), drawers for sheet music and a box crafted specifically to hold Stokowski’s typewriter and more.

Today, Louis Vuitton’s furniture lines include sofas and edgy lounge chairs by the likes of designers such as Marcel Wanders and stools by Tokujin Yoshioka, but for vintage collectors and interior designers creating stylish living rooms, it’s usually all about the trunks.

Featuring exterior fabrics such as the brand’s signature Damier (French for checkerboard), heritage Louis Vuitton trunks nowadays add a rich air of nostalgia to contemporary homes more often than they do in private railcars. Whether they’re used as durable coffee tables, nightstands or case pieces, these time-tested steamer trunks are versatile. The right vintage Louis Vuitton trunk can prove a dynamic home accent for modern interiors or, nestled alongside distressed exposed brick walls, a sophisticated furnishing for rustic loft spaces. Find yours on 1stDibs today.