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| Stylecraft of Miami embellished horse motif handbag, circa 1950s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
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| Interior of the bag above, with pretty floral lining and coordinating coin purse. |
The Vintage Purse Museum has long expressed that some of the very best bags of the mid-century have come out of Florida. One of the fabulous Florida companies we’d hoped to feature was Stylecraft of Miami, and we’re pleased to report that we connected with a relative of one of its owners. Alan Jacobson is the son of Max Jacobson, who, along with his two brothers, Henry and Irving, ran the Stylecraft company starting in the early 1940s. The following information was gleaned through newspaper archives and genealogy records, and input from Alan, to whom we are grateful.
First, some background.
Henry S. Jacobson (1906-1987), was born in Germany. He settled in New York in 1926, and in 1929, married Bella Blask (1904-1980). The couple had a daughter, Rhena (1932-1966).
Per a newspaper article about Stylecraft, Henry and his two brothers, Irving Jacobson (1910-2014) and Max Jacobson (1912-2004), attended secondary school in Frankfurt, then went to Offenbach, Germany (about six miles from Frankfurt) to learn the art of leather crafting. Their father had a book printing business.
Alan told us that the Jacobson brothers moved to New York from Germany in the 1920s, and that the three Jacobson sisters, Dora, Lillian and Rachel, emigrated to Israel, presumably to escape the escalating persecution of Jews in Europe. Henry, the eldest brother, came to the US first, and then assisted in bringing his mother, two brothers and one sister in the following years.
Around 1937, the Henry Jacobson family moved from New York to Florida. Shortly thereafter, Henry and Max began working for Harry I. Magid (1888-1965), who had established the Stylecraft handbag company in Miami in 1931. When The Vintage Purse Museum saw the name Magid, we contacted our lovely friend Bette Levy, great-granddaughter of Anna Magid, who founded the A.I. Magid handbag company in New York in 1916. We asked Bette if her New York relatives were related to the Magids of Florida. While a direct connection couldn’t be established, we did see in the genealogy records that Anna Magid’s husband Isaac was originally from Lithuania, as was Harry I. Magid, so it is possible that they were related. Interestingly, Harry I. Magid’s wife was also named Anna. After Harry I. Magid sold his company to the Jacobsons in 1940, he went into the real estate business.
In a 1941 newspaper article, only Henry and Max Jacobson are named as owners of Stylecraft. It is likely that Irving joined the company a little later, as the 1940 US Census places him, his wife, and their two children in the Bronx, New York. Henry, the article says, was the chief handbag designer. However, Alan told us that most designs were a collaboration of both Henry and Max, while Irving's job, after joining the company, was to oversee the everyday operation of the factory.
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Stylecraft taupe fabric bag, circa 1950s, with double diamond design and deco-style gold metal clasp, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
18 Jun 1941, Wed The Miami News (Miami, Florida) Newspapers.com
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| Stylecraft fabric tote with gold beads and trim, and colored faux gems, circa 1950s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
The Stylecraft location in 1941 was a 10,000-square-foot plant on NW 6th St. in Miami. Per 1943-1945 help wanted ads, Stylecraft was located at 1320 N. Miami Ave. Alan Jacobson, who was born in 1945, confirmed the original 6th Street location, was not aware of the N. Miami Avenue location, but vividly remembers when the factory was located at 31 NE 17th St. (According to a recent online ad, the 17th St. former factory is now a remodeled industrial warehouse with office space and studios in “Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.”)
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| 1960s Stylecraft hinged opening fabric handbag with vinyl trim, coin purse, and Stylecraft logo mirror with its original paper packaging. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
While many other handbag makers of the era had showrooms and/or representatives in New York City, Alan told us that Stylecraft had its showroom at the factory, as well as satellite showrooms and outside salespeople in other areas of the country. There was also a showroom at the Miami Merchandise Mart. (In 1953, the Miami Merchandise Mart Association, Inc. was located at 238 Pan American Bank Building. This structure was built in 1926, and known as the “Security Building.” It is now the WeWork Security Building and the address has changed to 117 NE 1st Ave.)
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| Gold metal box bag with cut black velvet and gold design by Stylecraft, 1950s-1960s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
The Vintage Purse Museum found a 1949 article that’s accompanied by a photo of the three brothers. (See photo near top of page.) The article said that the trio developed new designs and experimented with them, and that they “cut, weld and produce their own dies for cutting patterns.” Alan Jacobson told us that his father Max designed the bags and was involved with cutting the patterns. Henry primarily worked in company operations, and, as we mentioned previously, Irving oversaw the factory and its workers.
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| Black patent 1950s-1960s bag with inset beaded and appliqued design by Stylecraft. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
By 1952, Stylecraft was located inside the 15,000-square-foot 17th St. factory making a reported 500 bags per day. They were also collaborating with shoe manufacturers to create handbags that coordinated with shoes. This occurred during an era when matching shoes and bags was the fashion standard. Alan told us that Stylecraft designed and made "coordinates" for many of the finest shoe manufacturers. We found a 1947 article showcasing Stylecraft’s collaboration with Miami Footwear on a line of coordinating gold bags and shoes. Gold-colored apparel and accessories were a very popular trend of the 1940s.
The Vintage Purse Museum has a number of Stylecraft handbags in its collection, and it is clear that the brothers were more than willing to diversify their lines and offer something for everyone, while always thoughtfully designing and constructing their bags.
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| 1960s Stylecraft gold metal box bag with inset silkscreened "Old Masters" painting. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
We asked Alan if he remembered the factory. He said that he visited as a child, worked there in the summers as a teen and joined the company upon graduating from college. He left after one year and went into the real estate business. Other family members employed by Stylecraft were Henry’s son-in-law Bernard “Buddy” Litt (1925-1962), married to Henry’s daughter Rhena, and Irving’s son-in-law Norman Luger (1934-2013), who was married to Irving’s daughter Ann (known by her middle name “Shirley,” 1935-1993). When asked about a particular worker who stood out in his mind, Alan shared the name Joe Eggleton (1919-1987), "a fine gentleman, loyal employee, and the company’s most tenured employee." Joe assisted in many aspects of the factory's everyday operation. As Alan remembers, when the three brothers sold the business to Irving’s son-in-law Norman Luger, Joe Eggleton became a barber.
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| Acrylic box bag with engraved gold monogram, circa 1970s, by Stylecraft. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.  28 Nov 1976, Sun Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Newspapers.com |
The brothers were active members of the Miami Fashion Council, and featured in a number of newspaper articles about the council’s activities. We asked Alan about his family’s friendships with other Miami bag makers. He told us that they knew everyone in the business, but specified a maker named Terner, a company with which The Vintage Purse Museum was unfamiliar. We found several mentions of Terner's of Miami in the newspaper archives, including a 1969 advertorial that said 54 percent of Terner’s business was making handbags for airline stewardesses. (We believe the person who owned Terner’s of Miami, est. 1960, no longer in business, is a relative of the founder of the Bijoux Terner apparel and accessories company.)
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| 1970s plastic-bead fabric oblong box bag by Stylecraft, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
Alan also mentioned shoe manufacturer Harry Rabin (1906-1990), who owned Miami Footwear, and Volare Shoes, which was owned by Carlo “Charles” Leoni (1933-2020). In the 1960s, the Volare offices were located about 1.5 miles away from the Stylecraft factory.
When the Jacobsons sold their business to Irving’s son-in-law Norman in 1976, he changed the name of the company from Stylecraft Bag Manufacturers, Inc. to Stylecraft Bag Manufacturing & Importing, Inc. As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, the late 1960s to early 1970s was when US handbag imports, particularly from Asia, had increased exponentially due to several negotiation rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). We reiterate that importing was crucial to keeping many of these US companies in business, because GATT and other factors contributed to the expense of producing bags in-house.
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Swirled "tortoise" imported acrylic handbag, late 1960s-early 1970s, by Stylecraft, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. (Note: The ad below says "Lucite," but this was a DuPont trade name that was often used generically in ads for many types of plastics.) 07 Dec 1969, Sun The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) Newspapers.com |
The most recent Stylecraft handbag newspaper ad we could find was from 1986, however, according to Norman Luger’s LinkedIn page, the business closed its doors for good in 1989.
Alan Jacobson told us that his uncle Henry was a tough businessman, while his father Max was the antithesis: “…a kind, gentle, refined, wonderful person.” The Vintage Purse Museum believes this balance of the brothers’ personalities is likely why Stylecraft worked so well for decades, producing gorgeous handbags that remain usable and collectible today. It was, says Alan, “a true American success story!”
This article c2023 by Wendy Dager/The Vintage Purse Museum. Special thanks to Alan Jacobson for sharing his family’s story. Other resources used were Newspapers.com and MyHeritage.com, to which we have paid subscriptions, and Google. Please do not use any information or photos from this article or website without requesting permission, info@vintagepursemuseum.com.
22 Aug 1955, Mon Lubbock Evening Journal (Lubbock, Texas) Newspapers.com
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