Dating and pricing this HARDY bakelite purse

[Katarzyna]

Hello friends!

Can you help me date this Hardy purse. is it 50s or 60s? Maybe you know the exact date.
Also. How should I price it due to its condition?
It's lightly scratched and there is rust on the hardware I wasn't able to clean. tips on cleaning?

PS
I'm sorry, i'm not asking for valuation. I'm just wondering how much should be deducted. ignore that part.

 

[Katarzyna]

additional question: are HARDY bags same company as Wilardy?

 

[Midge]

That's a beautiful bag! I would guess 1950s datewise. I've seen a couple of similar bags on Pinterest, but it seems Hardy and Wilardy are not the same, even though the family that produced Wilardy bags was called Hardy.

Here's some more information on Wilardy, in case you didn't already find this: http://www.bagladyemporium.com/BLU/index.php?n=Main.Wilardy and https://wilardy.com/index.html .

 

[retro ruth]

That is fabulous!

The damage looks fairly minimal in your photos, as far as I can tell. Obviously the better the condition, the higher the price, but I don't see anything that buyers would find truly off putting here.

Are you sure it's bakelite, rather than lucite? I tend to think of these bags as lucite, though I'm a bit vague on the finer details of older plastics.

 

[Katarzyna]

That is fabulous!

The damage looks fairly minimal in your photos, as far as I can tell. Obviously the better the condition, the higher the price, but I don't see anything that buyers would find truly off putting here.

Are you sure it's bakelite, rather than lucite? I tend to think of these bags as lucite, though I'm a bit vague on the finer details of older plastics.

I'm confused now too, whether it's a lucite or bakelite. I'm not sure what the smell should be like when you test it (bakelite). Burned?

 

[retro ruth]

I'm confused now too, whether it's a lucite or bakelite. I'm not sure what the smell should be like when you test it (bakelite). Burned?

Bakelite has a chemical smell when vigorously rubbed or heated under hot water, I believe. Whereas Lucite doesn't have a smell. This article on lucite bags, also describes faux tortoiseshell bags being made from some kind of acetate (see below). It also says that Lucite tended to replace bakelite after it was invented in 1931. Worth reading. I see that some sellers use both terms, to cover all bases I guess.

 

[vivavintageclothing]

It is a really lovely handbag! I think it might be Lucite (trademarked name for Polymethyl methacrylate), not Bakelite, since the maker's name is molded into the lid.

Are there any other fine mold lines anywhere on the bag? Bakelite can be cast (and carved), but not molded.

Bakelite is much heavier than lucite, but without handling both, that doesn't help much. Smell is a much better test, if you can use hot water on it, or just rub it fairly hard, and then sniff.

 

[Distantdetails]

That looks like lucite, and I agree with Ruth that I'm not seeing much damage. I might have another go at the small amounts of rust with a gel nail file (the ones that have 8 levels of roughness). I'd start with the lowest grit, and see if that does the trick.

 

[Katarzyna]

Thank you guys!