Louis Vuitton Trunks and Toys Exhibit

The Trunks and Toys Exhibit staged by Louis Vuitton

showcased historical trunks and 12 antique toys from the Louis Vuitton Museum (toys are part of the founding family’s collection) in Paris, and poetic photography images by top French photographer Jean Lariviere.

The LV Asia Pacific team president Jean- Baptiste with the curator of Louis Vuitton Museum Raphael flew to Manila for this event.

LV Communications Director Dinesh with Pam Picazo

Louis Vuitton Philippines’ Rhea de Vera- Aguirre

Without further ado, the toys:

Latecoere Seaplane 521 in painted metal, circa 1935

Bing Steamer in painted metal, circa 1930

Lady pulling a wagon, circa 1900s

Lady (haha, carrying an LV alma!), circa 1900s

Caddies in painted metal, circa 1920. If you find something like this in an antique toys market, you MUST get this. It’s very rare now and is highly collectible.

Peephole!

And this is what’s inside

A musical elephant in painted metal, circa 1920-1930

Amazing how even the “reins” survived this long. Very well- preserved piece. Ostrich in painted metal, circa 1889- 1918

Porter in painted metal, circa 1930

Boat in painted metal, circa 1950 (it’s missing a passenger)

Space Conqueror Robot circa 1950

Liliputian Robot, circa 1940, in painted metal.

The piece de resistance of toys- trunks , made by Yuko Torii, one of the 3 prize winners of Louis Vuitton’s “150 years of the spirit of adventure” competition. Called the “Mars trunk”- the ideal trunk for someone who wishes to spend a weekend in Mars 🙂

This is a 1/3 scaled reproduction of the original piece

And now, the Louis Vuitton trunks and bags that form an integral part of the Louis Vuitton history

This particular trunk is covered with zinc metal, circa 1888– highly resistant to parasites and shocks!

A detailed shot of this trunk

Back then, the only markings on this trunk are on that photo you see– that was what made in known as a “Louis Vuitton” trunk (apart from its quality of course).

A Ladies’ Hat trunk which can store up to 6 hats.

I loved staring at this “seal” inside the Hat trunk. It’s part of the Louis Vuitton history!

Unique bed trunks were made by Louis Vuitton from 1885 to the end of the 1860s. This piece is very similar to the bed trunk belonging to Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (a French explorer who undertook expeditions to Africa; he founded the city of Brazzaville in 1880).

The camera case of Monsieur Gaston- Louis Vuitton.

A close-up of the camera case, which was the inspiration for one of LV’s bag, the Amazone

The keepall, 1980. This is the all- cowhide version which has already developed a nice patina

Two more detailed shots from the Louis Vuitton cabin trunk, circa 1914

If you would like more information about Louis Vuitton and the history behind the brand, I wrote a piece for the Philippine Daily Inquirer about it almost a year ago (July 30, 2009 to be exact). You can read the article HERE: “Know Louis Vuitton– The Man”

The Louis Vuitton Trunks and Toys Exhibit which is at Greenbelt 5, Level 2, The gallery, will be available for public viewing Today (July 15, 2010) onwards.

Don’t miss it! It’s worth knowing the history behind the brand we baghags love 🙂

x
Mrs. T