Louis Vuitton's Monogram at 130: Georges Vuitton's 1896 canvas against counterfeiters, after Trianon, stripes and the 1888 Damier; mon and Gothic quatrefoils
The Trianon grey canvas and the stripes were both imitated, which is why the house kept changing its cloth; the Damier of 1888 carried the words marque L. Vuitton déposée, the registered mark, printed into the pattern. Georges Vuitton's 1896 Monogram is the one that stuck, and the house marks its 130th anniversary through 2026.
The Louis Vuitton (@louisvuitton) building on the Champs-Élysées opened in 1914. Photos: Roberto Fiadone and SUAXINGPWOO Kaliu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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The post, as it ran
01LOUIS VUITTON'S MONOGRAM CANVAS IS 130 YEARS OLD IN 2026. GEORGES VUITTON DREW IT IN 1896, AGAINST COUNTERFEITERS AND IN TRIBUTE TO HIS FATHER.
02THE PATTERN IS THE INTERLACED LV, FOUR-PETAL FLOWERS AND QUATREFOILS, HERE ON A LOUIS VUITTON CASE.
03LOUIS VUITTON HAD OPENED IN 1854 AT 4 RUE NEUVE-DES-CAPUCINES IN PARIS. HIS FLAT-TOPPED TRUNKS CAME IN A GREY CANVAS CALLED TRIANON.
04STRIPED CANVAS FOLLOWED FROM 1872. THEN, IN 1888, THE DAMIER CHECKERBOARD, PRINTED 'MARQUE L. VUITTON DÉPOSÉE', AGAINST THE FIRST COUNTERFEITS.
05LOUIS DIED ON 27 FEBRUARY 1892. GEORGES, HIS SON, MADE THE MONOGRAM FOUR YEARS LATER.
06TWO INFLUENCES ARE CITED FOR IT: JAPANESE FAMILY CRESTS, CALLED MON, AND THE QUATREFOILS OF GOTHIC CATHEDRALS.