This is a dandy! I always seem to attribute these little metal purses to my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark. Following her death, boxes of antique items came into my possession as her only child, my mother, had little interest in the collection of "old stuff".From the various articles I have read, the bag was probably manufactured circa 1915-1920.
With a little research I found that the Mandalian Manufacturing Company, the makers of this particular mesh purse, was purchased by Whiting & Davis. I collect Whiting & Davis and have several bags from the 1930's and 40's. Oddly, I never realized that my grandmothers little mesh bag is made up of the same type of small metal pieces as those in my collection. I guess this is one of the "light bulb lighting" moments!
More on Mandalian Metal Mesh Purses;
Sahatiel Gabrabed Mandalian Purses
Mesh bags by Mandalian
© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser
Beautiful purse!
ReplyDeleteLinda, I'm so glad you took a liking to old stuff and the desire to post the items for all of us to enjoy. Thanks. This purse is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a treasure! I can't imagine the look on your face when you found out who it was manufactured by!
ReplyDeleteI remember something similar but not quite the same which my grandmother used to carry with her whenever she went out in the evenings.We used to play with the metal mesh and dragging it on the floor.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, my daughter has a purse like this she found in an antique shop. She likes these little evening bags, fans and gloves. I'll have to look for a mark on it the next time I'm at her apartment. I'll forward your blog to her, too.
ReplyDeleteYou have the most wonderful collection of family memorabilia, Linda. This purse is just lovely! I'm green with envy...
ReplyDeletemy mother has several of the whiting and davis clutch purses bill folds with the model numbers on it how would I go about researching these tkrae1@tampabay.rr.com
ReplyDeleteyou can email me @ sallywally2610@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteMy mother is the granddaughter of Sahatiel Gabrabed Mandalian. He adopted George Gudjemian who then became George Mandalian. They ran the mesh bag company together in Mass. The mesh bag collection is quite stunning. Whenever I am in an antique shop I always look to the condition of the mesh bags. Possibly you didn't know this but the pearlized paint came from scraping the scales of the herring fish giving it an irredescent appearance. I hope you email me. Sarah Buchert