Stand the Vanity on a flat surface and the design logic shows itself - the boxy, lipped-top silhouette descended from Vuitton's nineteenth-century travel vanity cases. It is rendered in Monogram canvas - the printed cotton-coated canvas Vuitton has produced since 1896, which gives the silhouette its house-authentic weight. Sized with a miniaturised 4 by 5.5 by 3.5 inch profile, the proportion does as much work as the finish. Collectors often note that pieces of this lineage hold their conversation value as much as their carrying value. Vuitton's vanity cases descend directly from its nineteenth-century travel canisters, where the house built compartments for cosmetics that doubled as containers for jewelry. Presented by Maison de Beaubigonne to a collector audience that already knows what to do with it.

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