Perfume Passage Foundation is dedicated to preserving the history, beauty, and artistry of perfume bottles, compacts, ephemera and related vanity items. The Foundation seeks to educate and inspire visitors by illuminating the connection between perfume and the human experience.
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Almost everything connected with perfume and perfume bottles on display at Perfume Passage evoke memories. And for most, it's these memories that start us collecting.
So it should be no surprise that perfume bottle collectors also seek vintage compacts, purses, powder boxes and related vanity items to enhance their perfume interests. The opposite is also true, as through Perfume Passage, compact and purse collectors can now experience the allure and history of perfume bottles.
On display throughout the Galleries are the must-have fashion accessory of the 1920-30s - PURSES!
Clutch bags, reticules and chatelaines are some the early purse styles that eventually evolved into the popular mesh purse that is so collectible today.
The earliest mesh purses were made in Europe around 1800, but it was just before 1900 when metal mesh purses started to become popular in the US. Those first mesh bags were made of individual metal rings, which were connected by hand. Another type of mesh called flat mesh or fish scale mesh appeared around 1900. It consisted of a series of cruciform links called spiders that were joined by metal rings.
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While there were several other important manufacturers that contributed substantially to the development of the mesh purse industry in the US - Mandalian, Bliss (later Napier), R&G Company and Evans, it was the Whiting & Davis company of Plainville, Massachusetts, that produced purses in the greatest variety of mesh types and bag styles.
Charles Whiting, later to become president of Whiting & Davis, developed his first handmade ring mesh bag in 1892 and went on to build a mesh purse company of unprecedented size.
However, in the early years making mesh and mesh bags by hand was very slow. No single company was able to produce enough bags to supply the market on a national scale.
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1930s Whiting & Davis mesh purses. Dresden style on the left with floral design and a painted flat mesh with enamel frame on the right. |
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Then in 1909, under the direction of Whiting, A.C. Pratt invented the first automated machine for making ring mesh fabric. Pratt also invented a similar machine for making flat mesh in 1913. These patented machines gave Whiting & Davis an advantage and probably hastened the demise of many of its competitors more than any other factor.
Women were entering the workplace more than ever in the 1920s and 1930s, and so the proper office attire with matching purse was important to the modern woman.
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Whiting & Davis designers started introducing new features and altered the appearance of their bags, marketing their purses toward working women, and even their young daughters. The ever-changing shapes of the bags and frames and ornamental devices and gimmicks helped maintain the public’s interest in their products. |
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In 1922 a vanity bag, the “Picadilly,” was advertised featuring a miniature compact with a small mirror built into the purse frame. It’s hard to imagine that the tiny mirror was very useful, but it was a novel idea. |
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In 1924 the most significant development in mesh purse design took place. Whiting & Davis began to sell mesh bags with all-over painted designs. Virtually all of the earlier Whiting & Davis ads were for ring mesh bags. However, in 1924, designers used the new painting technique to apply color to flat mesh. No longer did mesh bag designers have to rely solely on bag shape, frame design, or gimmicks to add appeal to their purses. Painted mesh designs on purses were advertised in mid-1924 and the Whiting & Davis patent application for the painting process was filed in 1927. The earliest Whiting & Davis all-over-painted flat mesh bags were called “Tapestry Mesh” and had very basic geometric designs, but some later designs were very detailed, including those depicting scenes and intricate floral patterns.
By 1927, Whiting & Davis had perfected a method for painting ring mesh bags, and the new line of bags was introduced that fall. The below advertisement shows a variety of flat mesh purses ranging in price from $4.00 to $18.00.
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The painted ring mesh bags did not wear as well as the painted flat mesh bags, so even fewer pieces have survived in good condition. Painted ring mesh bags made of the very smallest diameter ring mesh are also known as Dresden mesh purses.
In 1929, “Beadlite” mesh was patented. The inventor was Sturgis Rice, who later became president of Whiting & Davis from 1940 to 1960. Beadlite mesh is similar to flat mesh except that in the center of the mesh link it feels "bumpy."
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This Beadlite purse measures 5" x 6" and has a deco style enameled frame. |
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Purses with compacts as part of the lid or on the frame became popular in the 1920s and today appeal to both compact and purse collectors. These styles are difficult to find and command high prices in the current vintage vanity bag market.
Two flat mesh "corner" compact bags below sold for $15.00 according to a 1920s advertisement. If found today, prices could be $1,500 to $2,000 in top condition! These purses are on display in the Vault Gallery.
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Various purses with compacts. |
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Another compact style mesh purse was the "Delysia" manufactured by Whiting & Davis in the 1920s. It came in standard, junior and petite sizes. It opened in the middle and featured a powder and rouge compact in the center of the bag. |
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R&G Company (later Ripley & Gowen) and the Thomae Company, both of Attleboro, Massachusetts were known for manufacturing high quality guilloche enamel compacts in the 1920s and 1930s. They also produced top of the line mesh purses in the late 1920s with sterling and floral enamel compact lids. The compacts included mirrors, powder and rouge. |
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Ripley & Gowen and Thomae colorful mesh purses with enamel compact lids. |
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This 1920s Theodore W. Foster & Bro. Company (F&B) mesh purse with sterling and enamel compact lid with attached lipstick, known as a tango chain, is featured in the Vault. |
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A special thanks to Mike and Sherry Miller, Illinois mesh purse collectors for 50 years, for generously providing information for this article. For other articles on the history of mesh purses, please visit their Purse Collector website.
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Treasures of the Collection |
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Whiting & Davis made a variety of purses with compacts on the frame including a rare Dresden style mesh purse with swinging compact. The compact is centered on the purse frame and swings out from the frame on a hinge to allow the user easy access to the interior of the compact.
Inside the enamel compact is a mirror, powder area and powder puff.
The Dresden swinging compact bag pictured here, sold for $36.00 in the 1920s. Today that's equivalent to about $535. However, if the purse was found today, expect to pay over $2,500 for it in top condition!
This purse, along with other rare mesh purses, are on display in Perfume Passage.
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Q: When is a purse not a purse?
A: When it only looks like a purse!
Perfume and compact collectors look for items that resemble objects, known as figurals. Purse collectors can find both perfumes and compacts that encompass a handbag motif to add to their displays, as it's the variety of our collections that keep us on the hunt! These cross collectibles are on display throughout Perfume Passage
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Volupte's 1940s "Lucky Purse" purse shaped compact came in several different decorative styles. Some included rhinestones or attached lipsticks. According to actress Rita Hayworth, "collecting compacts like these is an exciting idea!" She was featured in a Harper's Bazaar 1948 advertisement for the Lucky Purse compact, which sold for $5 to $15, depending on the style.
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Many 1920s compacts resembled miniature purses with their chain handles. This sterling enamel Elgin American compact included a mirror, powder and rouge areas. The chain allowed a lady to carry the compact over her wrist as she danced the night away! |
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The Evans company from Attleboro, Massachusetts was known for their 1930s mesh purses that included an enamel compact as the lid to the purse. The inside of the compact included a lift up metal mirror that revealed the rouge and the opposite side was for the loose powder.
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Avon perfume bottle in the shape of a purse. |
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For the young collectors in our lives, a set of perfume body mist fragrance bottles shaped like purses, from Shopaholic Fashion Collection. Let's get them started at a young age. |
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We Look Forward to Seeing You Once We Safely Open Again |
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Located in the Chicagoland area, the Perfume Passage Foundation is 38 miles northwest of downtown Chicago and 25 miles from O'Hare International Airport.
Types of tours include:
- Private docent-guided tours
- Group tours
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Symphony of Scents and Sounds
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