LOUIS VUITTON Large travel trunk Checkered coated canvas with label, side handles, leather uprights on a wooden core, Significant traces of use, corresponding to a lifetime of travel. H.: 70cm, W.: 110cm, D.: 60cm This large trunk, designed for long journeys by train, liner or horse-drawn carriage, bears witness to the art of travel during the Belle Époque. At the time, Louis Vuitton was responding to numerous special orders from artists, diplomats and the wealthy, for whom the transportation of personal effects had to combine elegance, resistance and functionality. These trunks were often custom-made, with interior fittings adapted to the owner's wardrobe or professional instruments. Emma Calvé, a famous singer of international renown, was an inveterate traveler. In her memoirs, she recalls the fatigue of the crossings, the receptions on arrival, and the logistics of a daily life constantly on the move. She writes: "I left with my dresses, my shawls, my souvenirs, hundreds of letters from admirers that I didn't dare throw away. My trunks were like portable chapels of my story." (Sous tous les ciels j'ai chanté) More than a century later, these trunks embody a bygone but still admired art of living: collectors' items, they fascinate design enthusiasts and contemporary travelers alike. Today, they are a timeless symbol of luxury, prized as much at auctions as in the decor of grand hotels and private collections.