Louis Vuitton library trunks

The trunk for the Encyclopedia Britannica

In 1910, the publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica launched a challenge: to offer a case for the 11th edition, which consisted of 21 volumes. Gaston Louis Vuitton proposed his first model dedicated to the transport of books, which could contain all the works and was limited to 1000 copies. These trunks were 90cm long, equipped with two locks on each side and a handle on top of the luggage. They were always covered with monogram canvas.

La malle bibliothèque « idéale »

In 1923, the first vertical library trunk was created. Unlike the Encyclopedia Britannica, this model has the same dimensions as a small shoebox. The interior of the trunk was specially designed to hold more than 60 different books. These trunks open like the "Ideal Trunk" model but vertically, with the same elephant handles on each side. Wooden supports are fixed on one of the sides to fill the thickness of the handle, once the trunk is presented vertically.

A larger cabinet was later added to store the typewriter and manuscripts.

Ernest Hemingway Louis Vuitton trunk

A model for writers was introduced a few years later, with an entirely new configuration. Often associated with the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway, this model has to unfold in two parts to access the contents. Once presented, this Louis Vuitton trunk offers a first compartment for books, 6 other compartments for ink and writing tools and a box dedicated to the storage of a typewriter and manuscripts. Only the Corona Portable 3 typewriter can be inserted in this box.

Hemingway declared in 1928 "I learned never to dry up the well of my inspiration, always to stop when there was a little water left at the bottom and to let its source fill it during the night". We can bet that with this trunk, he had found the ideal storage space to order his imagination.

The other models

At the time, Louis Vuitton had leather-covered boxes designed to hold a small typewriter. These boxes were equipped with a handle on the front and allowed travelers/writers to carry their machine safely.
In the 1970s, Louis Vuitton also offered a "small box" in a Vanity format to carry books. Thanks to its tilting front, the reader could directly see the edge of the books stored in its box.

There were also much larger trunks, of the same size as the Stokowski model, with a door and a removable table, to carry the typewriter and the various storage spaces for manuscripts, books, accessories etc. Some models were custom made, according to the different needs or requirements of the writer. Secret hiding places, locked drawers.

Louis Vuitton trunks for storing books have existed since 1910. They have evolved over time and have always adapted to the new demands of customers. They are today an important testimony of the art of living in 1900, to quote Umberto Eco "If God existed, he would be a library".