I got this purse from an antique collector without getting any further information, it's a small brass(?) mesh expandable/gate change purse. I was thinking maybe 20s? or possibly 40s? What do you think?
It's a Whiting & Davis (there may be a tag hidden on the inside) and the dates are all over the place. I had one once and I thought it was 60s but they may have been making this style for a long time.
My mom had one of these in the 1960s, and I am pretty sure she bought it close to that time or the late 1950s. Not sure it was along time ago. But as had been said, these were in style on and off for decades. I would not call it a miser's purse, as those are a quite different.
As everyone stated hard to date as they have been getting made for many decades. Yours does seem more modern as the chainmail seems larger than it would be on the earlier ones. I agree not a miser's purse as those were early 19th c right through to the Victorian era and had actual double ring closures, were generally tightly crocheted, often steel beading was used to decorate them or colorful glass beads. The closure is often referred to as a gatefold closure.
