SPECIAL POST: Frank Milch and Milch Handbags WITH UPDATE SEPT. 27, 2024 - Invaluable Information About Milch's Designer David Deluty

Brick-red leather bag with front pockets by Milch. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. 09 Dec 1957, Mon The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com

SPECIAL POST: Frank Milch and Milch Handbags

Scroll down for update about David Deluty, Milch designer

When The Vintage Purse Museum acquired a Milch novelty “radio” handbag—unfortunately without the radio—we were interested in its origins. We did some research and found an article that said that Frank Milch had created a handbag with a miniature television in it. This was a truly remarkable concept because, in the 1960s, a compact TV was virtually unheard of. We then wondered if our bag was originally meant to hold a TV rather than a radio. We consulted with a number of vintage television experts who told us it would’ve been impossible for one to fit inside our bag. This was confirmed by old advertisements of the era. There were, indeed, some small televisions made—mostly imported from technologically-advanced Japan—but they were still rather heavy, therefore impractical to carry inside our Milch purse. (Read our update below to see confirmation of this theory!)

Milch 1958 radio handbag, sans radio. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Handbag above with one "door" open.

Handbag above showing interior compartment for radio.

Milch imprint inside handbag above.

It seemed our bag was definitely meant to have a radio behind its little doors. Then, in the course of searching out a completely different maker, we found the same bag, held by a fashion model in a 1958 Vogue magazine spread. This led to us changing our search parameters in the online newspaper archive, and we eventually found a newspaper advertisement for Frank Milch’s radio bag. The intriguing Mr. Milch loved innovation, quality and—best of all—compartments!

Vogue magazine, January 15, 1958, screenshot from the Vogue magazine database on Proquest. This ad was found while we were researching a different maker, but having the correct time frame led to us changing our search criteria and finding the newspaper ad below.

13 Jul 1958, Sun Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) Newspapers.com

We wanted to know more about Frank Milch, so we began exploring our usual resources and also connected with his granddaughter Amy Lieberman. The following is what we discovered about Mr. Milch through a newspaper archive, a genealogy website and via Google searches. We’ve also included some memories graciously shared by Amy.

Francis (Ferenc) “Frank” Milch was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1904 to Oszkar (b. 1868-d. 1945) and Szidónia Neuburger Milch (b.1873-d.?). Frank had a brother, Lajos (1897-1971), and a sister, Klara (1902-1955). After he founded his handbag company in the US, he told the press that he’d studied fine arts at the University of Budapest, and was also educated in France and Italy, and that he was a champion fencer. 15 Sep 1966, Thu The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com

According to a 1966 newspaper article, Frank emigrated to the US in 1932. However, the 1940 US Census says he was living in Budapest in 1935. Another article quotes him as being in the handbag business since 1936. We found his name—misspelled—on the manifest of the S.S. Pennland, arriving in the US on October 1, 1938 from Antwerp. The newspaper articles either contain mistakes by the reporters, were misremembered by Frank Milch, or it could be because those who fled Europe often misdate their experiences as a matter of self-preservation (more about that below). 

In 1949, Frank married Frances Lasdon Seaman (b. approx. 1904-d. 1985) in Manhattan. We found a plane manifest from 1953, showing that Frank and Frances visited Havana, Cuba, a once-popular tourist destination. The couple also visited Portugal in 1956.

According to granddaughter Amy, the couple were well-traveled, even taking trips on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2. However, her grandmother Frances would not allow Frank to return to Hungary. Frances was worried for good reason. We found Frank’s brother Lajos Milch’s name, as well as his wife Klara Kun Milch’s name, in the Holocaust Victims and Survivors Database of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They were 1946 survivors of the Hungarian “designated Jewish house” located on Ferenc Jozsef Rakpart 16. This address is now called Belgrad Rakpart 16 and is just ten minutes from the wartime Jewish ghetto of Budapest and seven minutes from “Shoes on the Danube,” a Holocaust memorial. It is unknown why Frank’s family did not emigrate to the US.

As with many of our handbag history articles, this is yet another story of those who fled Europe due to anti-Semitism, those who stayed and endured the horrors of World War II, and the many who did not survive. This is an extremely important aspect of the histories we document in our photo and history archive, because it explains several things about our subjects, including the fact that some of the people who came here often have murky origin stories. As we’ve encountered with other purse history articles, we sometimes can’t be sure of birth names, birthdates, home countries, educational backgrounds and employment histories because so many immigrants continued to live in fear, even decades later, while enjoying success and happiness as naturalized US citizens.

Frank and Frances's granddaughter Amy did go to Hungary to visit the family. She told The Vintage Purse Museum that on one of her trips, her great-aunt Klara, Lajos’s wife, showed her a photo her grandfather had sent to them. On the back of the photo, Frank had poignantly written, “I left Hungary a boy and arrived in the United States a man.”

Amy told The Vintage Purse Museum that her grandparents had a tremendous love for one another. Frank, who had a heavy Hungarian accent, called his wife “dahling,” and they were often holding hands.  Their affection is apparent in a newspaper article found by The Vintage Purse Museum, in which they are both interviewed about the Milch handbag business. The reporter describes Frank and Frances as elegant, gracious and charming. 

Classic black leather Milch handbag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Frank Milch had a workplace with an office in front and factory in back on Madison Ave. in New York City, and, as we came to learn (see update below), Milch bags were designed by David Deluty. A typical Milch handbag is beautifully stylish, which reflects the artisanship of the designer, as well as the way Frank Milch dressed and carried himself.

The Hungarian community was very close-knit. (The Vintage Purse Museum has interviewed other relatives of Hungarian handbag makers including Garay, Delill and Balazs.) Amy recalls that her grandfather was friendly with the famous Gabor sisters, Eva, Zsa Zsa and Magda, and one employee of Frank Milch who always seemed to be at the office was a Hungarian woman named Leelo.

In the 1950s, he briefly owned the business name Dolphin Bag Co., but we didn’t find any evidence he utilized this trademark.

One of Amy’s quirkier memories is that there were ashtrays made with the Milch logo, likely a marketing giveaway for the company’s salesmen.

Milch logo inside handbag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

12 Oct 1954, Tue The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

Frank Milch and his handbags had numerous write-ups in newspapers and magazines, and his wares were sold at high-end stores including Lord and Taylor and Rothschild’s.

In one 1966 newspaper article, he was quoted as saying, "We go to Europe twice a year to see European designs. Not that American designers are not as good, but just to see what's new there. American women are far more practical than Europeans. They want a place in their purse for make-up and other necessities and for their 'mad money.' They want an expanding purse, practical but not too heavy.”

Among his products, designed by David Deluty, were a “watch bag,” with an attached pocket watch (several other makers made a similar bag), the aforementioned television and radio handbags, and his popular “accordion” style, with expanding compartments.

07 Dec 1958, Sun The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com
In the 1950s-1960s, the trend was to match shoes to handbags, so he chose materials that were complementary. The same 1966 article quoted him: “I'm color crazy! The style is left to me but we coordinate colors. I'm not fond of exact coordination with shoes, but a little touch of color of the shoe in the bag is plenty.”

His primary material of choice appears to be leather, but he also presented evening bags in softer fabrics. The earliest newspaper ad for Milch handbags found by The Vintage Purse Museum was from 1954, but he also advertised in upscale fashion magazines such as Vogue. We found a number of Vogue ads for Milch handbags, the earliest in a 1945 issue.

Screenshot of November 15, 1945 Vogue ad for a Milch ponyskin handbag. Vogue advertisements were very expensive for handbag makers, but many higher-end companies purchased them. This is the earliest ad for Milch bags found by The Vintage Purse Museum via Proquest.

Milch handbag designer David Deluty (1920-1981). Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty.

IMPORTANT UPDATE, SEPT. 27, 2024: The Vintage Purse Museum was delighted to receive a message on our Facebook page from Julie Deluty, whose grandfather David Deluty was the designer of and production manager for Milch handbags. Julie Deluty's father, Dr. Marvin Deluty, very kindly sent us the following information about David Deluty, along with photos, which we are publishing here with Dr. Deluty's permission.

Here's the text of Dr. Deluty's email to us: "My father, David Deluty, was the designer for Milch Handbags from 1949 until the close of the business. From the 1950s until the 1970s, it was known in the handbag industry that “David of Milch” was the designer for Mr. Milch. 

Fabulous fan-shaped David Deluty-designed Milch handbag. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty.

Born in 1920, my father was a Holocaust survivor who grew up in Nowe Miasto near Plonsk in Poland before World War II. (The last name was Dluto before the War.) He survived Auschwitz (in Birkenau and Buna/Monowitz) from 1942-1945; a death march to Gleiwitz; and then Orhrdruf (a sub-camp of the Buchenwald network of camps). My father escaped in April 1945, and after a long ordeal, went to Paris where he lived for four years. It was in Paris that he learned how to design and create handbags. (For a period of time, he had an apartment on the street where the leather goods industry was located in Paris.)

David Deluty handbag for Milch. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty. 

When my father came to New York in 1949, he began working for Mr. Milch and remained with him until the business closed. Afterwards my father did free-lance work for several companies (including Varon and Judith Leiber) until he retired due to poor health. He died in 1981.

David Deluty for Milch handbag. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty.

My father designed the bags for Milch Handbags, and then after creating the design, he oversaw the manufacture of the bags in the factory that was behind the front office. I recall some of the handbags that he created. When I was growing up, my mother had samples of many of his handbags. I probably 'inspired' the 'accordion bag' due to the fact that I played the accordion when I was a boy. I recall the especially beautiful clutch bag with the small watch on the outside of the bag.  I do not recall a handbag with a radio, but he showed us the handbag that he created with the miniature TV inside the bag (but this handbag never went into production).

David Deluty-designed Milch bag. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty.

I was told that Mr. Milch had an exclusive contract with Saks Fifth Avenue for the sale of the handbags during a period of time. I was also told that Jackie Kennedy purchased at least one of the handbags when she was First Lady, but I do not know which one (or ones).

In addition, I recall that Mr. Milch would occasionally phone our home to speak to my father about the business. My parents did not socialize with him and his wife, but he did attend my Bar Mitzvah celebration and those of my brothers. On several occasions, my mother, brothers, and I visited the office and factory in Manhattan.

David Deluty bag for Milch. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marvin Deluty.

For my father, working in the handbag industry was very stressful, but the design, creation, and production of the handbags for Milch Handbags were highly meaningful endeavors. Most of my father’s family had been killed during the Holocaust. His family life with my mother and with my brothers and me, along with his work for Mr. Milch, as well as his intellectual pursuits, enabled him to rebuild his life after the traumas that he had experienced."

***

  17 Dec 1970, Thu The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

The latest newspaper advertisement we could find for Milch bags was from 1970, although this does not necessarily mean this was the last year of production. However, as we’ve mentioned in other articles on The Vintage Purse Museum’s website, The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT-1948), a set of multilateral trade agreements originally ratified in 1947, strongly affected businesses during its 1964-1967 “Kennedy Round” (named for President Kennedy, who predeceased the negotiations). This deal worsened the market as the US was importing more bags than it sold, causing American companies to close rather than be forced to lower employee wages and benefits. The Vintage Purse Museum found a US House Ways and Means Committee Hearing transcript from 1970 that had an addendum listing the handbag companies that went out of business from 1968-1969 due to the GATT Kennedy Round. Milch was not on this list, however it’s possible the residual effect led him to retire. 

Francis “Frank” Milch passed away Sunday, August 28, 1977 in New York. The Manhattan Guild (a nonprofit established in 1948) expressed its condolences in a New York Times announcement adjacent to his obituary. Amy told us her grandmother was heartbroken when Frank died. Frances Milch passed away in 1985. 

The legacy of Milch handbags is one of style, quality and elegance, and each example is a tribute to Frank Milch, the man who proudly gave them his name. And we cannot forget David Deluty, who overcame traumatic circumstances, worked hard, and left future handbag aficionados the gift of his art.

Special thanks to Amy Lieberman, and to Julie Deluty and Dr. Marvin Deluty. Credit also to The Bag Lady, Vogue magazine, newspaper archive Newspapers.com, genealogy website MyHeritage.com and various Google searches. This article c2022 by Wendy Dager/The Vintage Purse Museum. Please do not use any photos or information from this article without requesting permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.

30 Nov 1954, Tue The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Newspapers.com