SPECIAL POST! The National Recovery Administration and The Ladies' Handbag Code Authority

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Rodolac or other type of molded thermoplastic handbag, 1930s, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Label inside bag above.


The National Recovery Administration and The Ladies' Handbag Code Authority

The Vintage Purse Museum was motivated to write the following article because we once again observed the perpetuation of misinformation on the Internet. In this case, it was a major misunderstanding regarding the connection between the Ladies' Handbag Code Authority and The National Recovery Administration, also known as the “NRA.” 

We saw that several online sellers believed “NRA” and its eagle symbol on Ladies' Handbag Code Authority labels meant that the bag was manufactured or endorsed by a completely different entity that shares this initialism. That other entity is associated with firearms. We even saw one NRA/Ladies' Handbag Code Authority-labeled bag that its seller said was a “concealed carry” purse. We admit to having a bit of a chuckle when we read this. We can tell you with confidence that this purse has nothing to do with hidden firearms. Unless its original owner, a femme fatale, stashed her mother-of-pearl-handled derringer inside the bag while wearing it to an underground 1930s nightclub, fraught with danger and dubious characters. (OK, now we're ALL picturing it!)

1930s brown velvet evening bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. Not meant to conceal a firearm, but you never know!

Reverse of bag above, showing back-strap handle.

Label inside bag above.

The National Industrial Recovery Act was enacted by Congress in 1933 with the goal of stimulating economic recovery during the Great Depression (1929-1939). The National Recovery Administration was a government agency created by a separate executive order after the National Industrial Recovery Act was approved.

Designed by Philadelphia artist Charles T. Coiner (1898-1989), there were various explanations of the symbolism of the NRA's blue eagle logo, including many articles and advertisements that equated it with the Native American thunderbird. One November 1934 newspaper article described the NRA emblem as "...an eagle clutching in its talons a sheaf of lightning bolts, symbolizing the energy supplied to the wheels of American industry, represented by the cogwheel." Stores were encouraged to display the NRA symbol, with many offering special NRA Blue Eagle discount days and Blue Eagle redemption stamps for a variety of goods.

The NRA was headed by Hugh Samuel Johnson (1882-1942), a former US Army brigadier general, who was appointed to the position by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Over 500 industries were ordered by the NRA to enforce fair work hours, pay rates, and product prices. Each industry had a "Code of Fair Competition" booklet. The Vintage Purse Museum has an original copy of the NRA booklet for the Ladies' Handbag Industry. 

Original 1934 Ladies Handbag Industry NRA Code of Fair Competition Book. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Here's some information about the Ladies' Handbag Industry code booklet, excerpted from the book that The Vintage Purse Museum's curator wrote about the 1944-1965 US excise “luxury” tax placed on handbags: "A Code of Fair Competition for the Ladies' Handbag Industry," approved March 14, 1934, was published by the US Government Printing Office in a handbook with the logo of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) on its cover. Article V dictated that there should be eleven representatives of the industry including an administrator, five members of the Associated Handbag Industries of America, Inc., two members of the National Association of Ladies' Handbag Manufacturers, two members of the Industrial Council of Leather Goods Manufacturers Inc., one from the Midwest Handbag and Small Leather Wares Association, Inc., and one from the Ladies' Handbag Manufacturers of the Pacific Coast."

1930s chiffon evening bag embellished with beadwork, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Label inside bag above.

Handbag industry representatives were very serious about their responsibility to enforce the code's rules and have bag makers adhere to them. According to page 43 of the July 1935 issue of the trade publication Luggage & Leather Goods (per the website of The Bag Lady), The National Authority for the Ladies' Handbag Industry was launched July 1, 1935 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. 125 industry representatives from 70 firms voted unanimously to accept the Articles of Agreement that eliminated child labor, established a 40-hour work week, and permitted limited use of 'learners' paid at 75% of the minimum code wage of 35 cents per hour. (The US national minimum wage in 1935 was 25 cents per hour.)


In attendance at that 1935 meeting were some names with which vintage bag collectors may be familiar: David Ingber, William Kadin, Richard Koret, Maurice Magid, and Sol Mutterperl. There were other decisions made during this meeting, including a decree that official handbag industry labels would be used to demonstrate that the bags that bore them were following the rules set forth by the code book. The Vintage Purse Museum has a Ladies' Handbag Industry Code Authority label order form in our collection. 

Original 1934 Ladies' Handbag Industry cover letter for Code Authority label order form. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.


Order form that came with cover letter above. We believe these labels were only used between 1934 and 1936, as they were not needed after the dissolution of the NRA. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

There was an abundance of correspondence between the US Government and the Handbag Authority, which was compiled by Oliver W. Pearson of the NRA in March 1936, and consisted of 660 pages called "History of the Code of Fair Competition for the Ladies' Handbag Industry." Among the issues faced by the Handbag Authority was policing the standards and practices of its members. At one point there were 91 cases of non-compliance (out of 337 members). However, the focus was primarily on eight handbag companies that said they could not participate in, nor did they consent to, establishment of the code. They also said they did not have access to skilled labor and couldn't operate within limited hours.

1935 editorial in support of the NRA code, which mentions the Handbag Authority. Its author, "E.E.A", is not identifiable, as this appeared in "The Message Center" (reader viewpoint) section of The Indianapolis Times. Editors of this newspaper allowed letter writers' names to be withheld.
 19 Jun 1935, Wed The Indianapolis Times (Indianapolis, Indiana) Newspapers.com

These complaints were not limited to handbag manufacturing concerns, as similar objections were voiced by businesspeople in all types of industries. The National Recovery Administration proved to be a mistake, as evidenced by its codes leading to inflated pricing rather than its intended boost to the economy. After a series of lawsuits, in May 1935, a US Supreme Court ruling declared the NRA unconstitutional. It was officially abolished in January 1936. 

Despite this failure, the Ladies' Handbag Authority went on for decades, using the basic principles established by the NRA code. In addition to continuing its main goal of fair treatment and good working conditions for employees, the Ladies' Handbag Authority frequently offered its collective support to handbag and leather goods' manufacturers to change what it viewed as unfair government laws and policies. Among its greatest battles was its 20-year quest to eliminate the aforementioned 20 percent US federal excise "luxury" tax on handbags, starting in 1944. In the 1950s and 1960s, Authority board members also lobbied the government to reduce the influx of handbag imports to the US, which were affecting bag manufacturers' efforts to keep their businesses open and their workers employed. 

1930s black velvet evening bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Label inside bag above.

The organization's name changed over the years, from its official "National Authority for the Ladies' Handbag Industry" in the 1930s to the simpler "National Handbag Association" in 1966. One online reference says that the National Handbag Association was absorbed by the National Fashion Accessories Association, but we could find no active websites, and cannot verify the accuracy of this statement.

One thing we can state with certainty is that NRA/Ladies' Handbag Code Authority labels represent a short-lived 1930s government agency and a long-term niche industry organization, and have nothing to do with a bag in which a femme fatale could hide her derringer. Although, we must say we do love a colorful backstory! 

***

Special thanks to The Bag Lady, whom we use frequently as a reference. Other information was found via Newspapers.com, to which we have a paid subscription, and Google. To obtain Wendy Dager's book, Pain in The Purse, The Tax That Changed Handbag History, visit Amazon. This article c2024 by Wendy Dager/The Vintage Purse Museum. Please do not use photos or information from our website without requesting permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.



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