hermés archives

hermés has released images of bespoke luggage from it's archive made for danish author karen blixen (a.k.a. isak dinesen), who wrote out of africa. the crocodile skin cases were ordered in 1930 and 1935. hermés noted that the more complex of the two took its craftsmen 368 hours to make. both feature inlays & engraving, with most pieces adorned with a baroness' crown & the author's monogram DBF (dinesen blixen-finecke), a combination of her maiden & married names (her full title was baroness karen von blixen-finecke). the cases feature compartments & leather boxes for spirits, smoking accessories, writing instruments, notepaper, perfume bottles, cosmetics, playing cards, jewelry, small tools, sewing items, brushes & more with some items finished in sterling silver & tortoiseshell. however, hermés notes that the items appear to be unused & probably never made it to kenya & therein lies the mystery. noting that by december of 1930, when the cases were first ordered, blixen was down on her luck and preparing to leave africa. the archives are unclear as to whether she ordered the cases or if they were a gift from another.