I never considered that leather purses, similar to those we see today, were used in the 19th century. While I could easily imagine small fabric reticules embellished with beads and embroidery, the idea of leather purses being common hadn’t crossed my mind. However, leather purses were in use as early as the 1860s and grew in popularity during the 1880s and 1890s.
The first photograph is of my great-grandmother, Harriet Louisa Albritton, who married my great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan, in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Dating her clothing is challenging because she is draped in a crocheted wrap. If this photo had been taken around 1880 or slightly earlier, the Bryan family would have lived in Erath County, Texas.
The second photo features an unidentified woman dressed in a two-piece outfit with covered buttons and appliques, typical of fashion from the late 1870s to the 1880s. This photograph is part of the Marguerite Cook Clark collection, suggesting it originates from the Bienville Parish area.
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Diana
"Harriet Louisa Albritton Bryan," photograph, about 1880; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Jane Aebersold, CO, 2013.
Unidentified woman with a purse, n.d.; digital images from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas, on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.
"Victorian Purses and Edwardian Handbags," Vintage Dancer (https://vintagedancer.com/victorian/victorian-purses-edwardian-handbags/ : accessed 1 November 2024).