Date and material of a small bag/purse

scillas

scillas

Registered Guest
Can you help me identifying the material of this purse and dating it?
it looks 40s to me, maybe even 30s – what do you see?

And would you call it a wrist bag?

The real puzzle for me though, is the material. It looks to be some kind of thin leather/skin – but of what? It is rather stiff and very thin at the same time – a bit like reptile skin, in that respect. Also, it has kind of dark "veins" across it in most areas.
Some parts of it is very light, almost white, some are more yellowish.
Could it be of some fish or something? In Denmark we have quite many items like purses and bags made from eelskin (vintage and new production), which is beautiful, so maybe it isn't that crazy to think of fish?– just never heard of a production of "fish leather" – have you?

The interior is very pretty; creamy white fabric, i think silk and a small coin compartment fitted with very soft kidskin in a matching colour.

I'm thankful for any ideas/help – and very curious what you have to say.

More pics here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4320177/bag_1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4320177/bag_2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4320177/bag_3.jpg

Sille in Denmark
 
Pretty bag! How big is it actually?

I have seen that kind of interior construction once before, on a somewhat bigger leather bag which I would have put at 1920s or 30s, but am not entirely sure (and didn't buy it because it was too expensive in the end).

No idea on the material, but fish leather does exist - and is being made from different kinds of fish. Your bag doesn't look like the fish leather I know so far, but who knows... I've been wearing the same watch for years, replacing the strap every few years, and have only been told now that it actually is sharkskin... To me, sharkskin feels pretty much like leather - as opposed to eelskin, which to me feels different than "normal" leather (I have a very nice new eelskin purse from Denmark ;) ).

Karin
 
No idea what it's made of--those "veins" are very strange-looking indeed...

The silhouette of the purse doesn't ring any definite bells for me, but whenever I've run into that sort of hinged and divided middle pocket, it's been in a 20s/30s purse. The fabric of the interior sounds right for an earlier purse as well.

Is the wrist strap attached to the purse at both ends? I can't quite tell from your picture (and if in fact it is attached at the bottom, then this would be the reverse side of the purse).
 
Thank you all for your help so far :)

Karin:Oh yes, forgot the size, but it's quite small – like 20 x 10 cm – and I've done some "fish leather" googling in the meantime – with some funny results, but the fish leather I see in those pics looks much more like snake/croc; not like this material at all...

vintagemerchant: Yes, I'm pretty sure it's not vinyl – the "mystery material" doesn't have that artificial look or feel. Also I figure that the well-made interior/construction with kidskin wouldn't really match a vinyl exterior. Material not very brittle either, but a little stiff ...really difficult to describe – a little like paper, but more elastic than paper, though not as elastic/flexible as leather/skin usually is.
Yes, sorry – no native english speaker, as you can clearly see ;-)
But that material really does puzzle me – never saw something like it, I think.

cmpollack: Yes, the strap is attached at both ends and fits my normal-sized wrist, so I see your point that this is the rearside.
And come to think of it, I had a 30s bag too with the same divided pocket-thing, though I have no idea how long that sort of construction was used.

Thanks again so far :)
Sille
 
I am wondering, and sorry if this is a bit gross, whether this isn't so much "skin" as an internal animal product, such as pig's bladder. That would explain the veining. Pig's bladder is and has been used for many applications, such as sports balls, water carriers, and even bag pipes, since time immemorial. It does have veining similar to this, and is pale. Just a thought, and sorry again if it's a bit distasteful.

I've also seen a few bags with that internal purse frame, and they've been 30s or possibly early 40s.
 
Thank you so much again – and absolutely no offence taken with the pig bladder theory – well, we know how sausages are made, and can't be (much) worse than that, can it ? ;-)

And yes, thanks Linn, I can see the deco-shape, now that you mention it.
So with the dating I feel more certain now, and as for the material: Well, some some mystery to research/think about :-)

thanks again
Sille in Denmark
 
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