Object History
Louis Vuitton was founded by its namesake in 1854, with the first shop on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris, France. Monsieur Vuitton had observed that a competitor’s trunk could be easily stacked and in 1858, Vuitton introduced his flat-topped trunks with trianon canvas covering, making them lightweight and airtight. Before this time, rounded-top trunks were generally used, to help water run off, and thus could not be stacked. Vuitton promoted his flat trunks ability to stack with ease for overseas voyages and thus created a successful luxury travel goods business.