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A rare Hermès Birkin 30 once owned by Jane Birkin is set to go under the hammer in Paris. The bag’s particular appeal lies in the actress’s autograph and a handwritten message addressed to a friend named Georgia, Robb Report reports.

The black Togo leather bag was made in 2009. Birkin left a message on it in white marker, written in French: “So that you may be safe — for us, your friends. Jane B. Athens.”

According to auction house Bonhams, the singer visited Athens in April 2010 to attend the Francophone Film Festival. The eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano led to widespread flight cancellations, preventing Birkin from traveling to the United States to visit her daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Instead, she went to see her friend Georgia and gave her the bag. Her surname has not been disclosed.

Jane Birkin often personalized her accessories with a white marker, writing messages on her own bags and those belonging to friends. On one occasion, she even stood on her friend Midori Senga’s leather Birkin to soften the material.

The story of the iconic design began in 1984. According to legend, during a flight, Birkin complained to then-Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas that she needed a spacious yet elegant handbag. The result was a design named after her. In 2025, the original prototype created for the actress sold at Sotheby’s for a record $10.1 million.

The Bonhams auction is scheduled for November 25. The bag is estimated to fetch between €40,000 and €70,000 (approximately $45,000–$79,000). For comparison, a black Birkin 35 once owned by Birkin herself sold for £119,000 — around $160,000 — in 2021, five times its pre-sale estimate.

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