Other maker marks
Louis Vuitton bag stamp include a label reading “1 RUE SCRIBE / PARIS / Louis Vuitton / 149 NEW BOND ST. / LONDON” on Paper / textile label.
Founded 1854; joined the LVMH merger in 1987 and continued under its own name.
Undated
Name and patent/address lettering on the hinged lock hasp with separate origin and lock number on the plate. The number is not treated as a year.
stamped · Brass
Undated
Registered-symbol and Paris wording on a sewn rectangular interior leather patch; lower-case origin line distinguishes it from the older exterior plaque.
heat stamped · Leather
Undated
Rectangular interior label with large flowing script between Paris and London addresses; the separately stamped trunk number 148289 is not part of this label design.
label · Paper / textile label
Undated
Exterior leather plaque fixed with four branded studs; Paris and London accompany the full name.
embossed · Leather
Louis Vuitton opened his own packing and trunk-making business in Paris in 1854, after an apprenticeship in the trade. His workshop developed travel trunks with lightweight canvas coverings and flat lids that could be stacked. In 1859 the business expanded to Asnières-sur-Seine, outside Paris, where workshops and the family home developed together. Travel goods remained the foundation of the house’s identity.
Louis’s son Georges helped expand the business internationally. The first London shop opened in 1885. The checkered Damier canvas followed in 1888, incorporating the Vuitton name into its design. After Louis’s death in 1892, Georges continued the firm and introduced the LV-and-floral canvas in 1896. The initials honored his father. Trunk locks, exterior leather plaques and interior address labels carried further identifying wording alongside the patterned canvas.
During the twentieth century the range extended into softer luggage and handbags. A more flexible coated canvas developed in the late 1950s helped adapt the familiar pattern to these goods. Louis Vuitton merged with Moët Hennessy in 1987 to form LVMH. The business continued under its established name, and the Asnières workshops retained a role in trunks and special commissions.
Also known as: LV · Maison Louis Vuitton
The company’s name and patterned canvas have been imitated since the nineteenth century. Evaluate the whole object and its provenance rather than a single letterform.
Painted or stenciled personal initials identify an owner, while factory wording appears on labels and fittings. The two inscriptions serve different purposes.
