Q: I work in senior housing and get to meet wonderful people in their 80s, 90s and 100s as part of my job. Louise, one of my favorite residents, recently passed away at age 102. Her family gave me this purse as a memento. I’ll always treasure it because she was a dear and very funny lady.
Can you tell me what age the purse might be? She used to tell me stories of her “fast times” when she would go dancing with friends. She claimed to have smoked cigarettes and to have driven a car.
The body of the purse is 9 by 7 inches with 2-inch long fringe. It is very heavy and looks like it is lined with suede. Anything you can tell me will only add to my delight in having known such a lady.
A: What a nice gesture from a family. And how nice for you to work with antique people. In my line of work I only deal with antique things.
The flapper and speakeasy heyday is considered to be 1927, when your friend would have been 18. Were she as precocious as she sounds from your description, I suppose she very well could have gone into one of these off-license bars and enjoyed a dance, a cigarette and a drink.
Your friend could have carried the purse in the 1920s and 1930s, but from the size, the material and the style of the clasp I’d say your purse dates from right around the turn of the last century.
Your purse is made of cut steel beads. These faceted beads are another by-product of machinery innovations during the 18th century industrial revolution. From about 1795 through Victorian times and later, cut steel beads were typical, very available and very common. They were first produced in England but were soon popular in Germany and France, where craftsmen and jewelers liked the bead’s innovation.
Some collectors refer to cut steel jewelry as “poor man’s malachite” or even “poor man’s diamonds” because of the way the facets reflect light.
Until the 1820s, steel jewelry, shoe clips and purses were produced by individually riveting the steel beads onto a mesh backing. Later, machinery was developed to produce sheets and strips of these beads that could more easily and less expensively be made into purses. The 1903 Sears catalog lists a fringed cut steel purse with a suede lining, which looks much like yours. The price then was a hefty $3.29.
Cut steel beads can rust so take care to keep your purse dry. It appears to be in perfect condition so apparently Louise — who likely got the purse as a hand-me-down or gift from an older friend — was careful with her things. If you were to sell it, you could expect the purse to bring $40 to $70.
Jane Alexiadis is an appraiser with Michaan’s Auctions. Send your questions, any history, a brief description and measurements to whatsitworth@michaans.com. Please send no more than three photos.
