History of Louis Vuitton 1854-1939

The Louis Vuitton label was established by Vuitton in 1854 on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris, France. Louis Vuitton had actually observed that the HJ Cave Osilite trunk could be easily stacked and in 1858, Vuitton presented his flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas, making them lightweight and airtight. Prior to the intro of Vuitton’s trunks, rounded-top trunks were used, usually to promote water run off, therefore could not be stacked. It was Vuitton’s gray Trianon canvas flat trunk that enabled the ability to stack with ease for trips.

Numerous other luggage makers copied LV’s design and style.

In 1857, the business took part in the universal exhibit in Paris. To secure against copy cat designers, Vuitton altered the Trianon design to a beige and brown stripes design in 1876. By 1885, the business opened its very first shop in London on Oxford Street. Soon after, due to the continuing success of his design, in 1888, Vuitton developed the Damier Canvas pattern, which bore a logo design that checks out “marque L. Vuitton déposée”, which translates into “L. Vuitton signed up trademark”. In 1892, Louis Vuitton passed away, and the business’s management passed to his son.

After the death of his father, Georges Vuitton started a project to build the business into an around the world corporation, showing the business’s wares at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. In 1896, the business introduced the trademark Monogram Canvas and took out around the world patents on it. Its graphic signs, consisting of quatrefoils and flowers (along with the LV monogram), were based upon the pattern of utilizing Japanese and Oriental designs in the late Victorian age. The patents later on showed to be effective in stopping counterfeiting. In this exact same year, Georges took a trip to the United States, where he visited cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, offering Vuitton items. In 1901, the Louis Vuitton Company presented the Steamer Bag, a smaller sized piece of travel luggage created to be kept inside Vuitton travel luggage trunks.

By 1913, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs-Elysees. It was the biggest travel-goods store on the planet at the time. Other shops soon opened in New York, Bombay, Washington, London, Alexandria, and Buenos Aires as World War I started. Later on, in 1930, the Keepall bag was launched. Throughout 1932, LV presented the Noé bag. This bag was initially produced for champagne vintners to carry bottles. Quickly afterward, the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag was presented (both are still produced today). In 1936 Georges Vuitton passed away, and his boy, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the business.

In 1938 the author Eric Newby purchased a Louis Vuitton trunk from a train lost property store in London’s East India Dock Road. The idea was that he would take it with him on board when he presented himself as an apprentice on the four-masted square-rigger sailing ship Moshulu. It ended up being the last Grain Race in between Australia and Europe. He headed out in 1938 and sailed back in 1939. He writes of his experiences in his autobiographical book ‘The Last Grain Race’.