We are not “fashion people.” We buy very little in the way of clothing, and more that would be considered ‘costume’ or found in a reenactment section of an old timey general store than anything that comes close to cutting edge. It should come as little surprise, then, that when it was suggested that we consider writing about purses for the Magazine Antiques we were entirely lost on where to start. I don’t even own what most people would categorize as a purse.
Luckily, we had a guide. The collection we dove into is specific, and quite possibly singular. Rick Sharp is an avid and well-studied antiques collector in the Hudson Valley who has accumulated the best-of-the-best in a range of categories, but he is quite proud of his chainmail Jazz Age early 1900s purse collection in particular. Each piece is a work of art, but also a testament to the rise of manufacturing capabilities in the first decades of the 20th century. Things could be made faster, and with more precision, than ever before, and these chainmail handbags were a testament to that, even if the wearing wasn’t always reflecting on the ingenuity of adapting armor to an accessory.
Ben visited Sharp in his home, and was able to see and handle the bags in person. For many, they will look familiar. You may have seen something like them in costume closets, thrift stores, or even dress-up bins as a kid. The difference between a toy of something and the real thing comes down to the details, and in our piece for the Magazine we dig into precisely what made the purses by Whiting and Davis (Wrentham, MA) and Mandalian Manufacturing Company (North Attleboro, MA) stand out from the cheap copycats.
As we are wont to do, we also found reason to reflect in the piece on the production of chainmail — the armor kind — and what an innovation it was to create a fabric-like material out of sturdy metal. It saved lives and, quite possibly, centuries later, more than a few outfits.
Read the Article, and remember to support independent publishing by subscribing to the Magazine Antiques here.