Louis Vuitton's Rare Historical Trunks Head to Auction in Paris for Monogram's 130th Anniversary

A Paris auction house will sell rare historical Louis Vuitton trunks on May 21, 2026, celebrating 130 years of the brand's iconic monogram. The sale, organized by Gros & Delettrez, focuses on travel trunks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, highlighting the evolution of luxury travel. Among standout pieces are two explorer's bed-trunks, custom-made items produced only on special order. One belonged to Jules Tivan, a pioneering French explorer of the French Congo in the late 1800s, while the other bears the initials "B.B." A yellow ochre "vuittonite" desk-trunk from the 1920s represents another rarity, originally developed for a Russian tsar who refused luggage with any initials but his own. The monogrammed canvas was created in 1896 by Georges Vuitton, son of founder Louis, as both a signature and anti-counterfeiting measure. The design evolved through stenciled versions in 1904, coated canvas in the 1950s, and even a blue monogram. Special artist collaborations emerged in the 1990s-2000s with figures like Jeff Koons and Yayoi Kusama. Auctioneer Antoine Saulnier notes that value depends on age, rarity, condition, and intact original fittings like locks and leather trim. The sale includes a travel library-writing trunk estimated at €8,000-12,000 and the bed-trunks estimated at €35,000-40,000 each. The event traces how luxury travel once required up to forty specialized trunks for items like shoes, hats, or even functioning as auxiliary furniture.