SPECIAL POST: The Story of Claire Fashions and The Marvelous Mr. Tatelman

Claire Fashions plastic-covered "under glass" sequined poodle motif bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. We have the same design on another Claire handbag.

The Story of Claire Fashions and The Marvelous Mr. Tatelman

It was only by sheer luck that we found the name “Harvey Tatelman” associated with one of our favorite bag lines, Claire Fashions. We couldn’t reach Mr. Tatelman or his relatives by email or through social media, which is usually how we establish contact for these articles. Instead we decided to give him a call, which we rarely do, because we feel that phoning a potential interviewee can be a little intrusive.

But we’re very glad we did! Mr. Tatelman is one of the warmest, kindest, most gregarious people with whom we’ve had the pleasure to speak. It isn’t often that we're able to connect with mid-century bag makers themselves—rather, we generally speak with relatives—so we were immensely fortunate to get his unique perspective on the handbag business of the 1950s and 1960s.

Claire Fashions "under glass" plastic-covered handbag with needlepoint embellishment and original tag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

In doing so, we learned that not only did Harvey Tatelman create Claire Fashions, named for his beloved wife Claire Rosenblum Tatelman (1928-2020), he also invented several other items. We already had examples of some of these in our collection, but we didn't know their origins prior to speaking with him.

Harvey Tatelman was born in 1925 to Jacob “Jack” Tatelman (1895-1989) and Anna Behren Tatelman (1897-1988). The couple had three children: Harvey, Stanley, and Bernice. The Tatelman family lived in New York, where Jack worked as a sales manager for the J.E. Mergott company. J.E. Mergott, also known as JEMCO—a name we come across quite often in our research—was a manufacturer of metal products, including handbag frames. Harvey credited his father Jack’s association with J.E. Mergott's numerous handbag-maker clients as opening the door to him becoming personally acquainted with many of the biggest names in the business, including Morris White, Arnold Garay, Louis Coblentz, Richard Koret, and Julius Resnick. Harvey Tatelman was also friendly with handbag icon Judith Leiber, and was her occasional bridge partner.

One of the first questions we asked him was if the acrylic frames on some of the 1960s Claire bags were sourced from handbag and plastic products maker Rialto, something we’d long suspected. Mr. Tatelman confirmed this, and told us that the late Abe Rothman, founder of Rialto, had been a friend of his. We told him that we’d been in touch with Abe’s daughter-in-law Carole (widow of Abe’s son Matthew) for information for our article about the different plastics used in handbags and handbag hardware. The mid-century handbag industry was truly a small world.

Claire Fashions vinyl handbag with Rialto acrylic frame and handle. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Claire Fashions bag with "courting couple" tapestry panel on vinyl, and black acrylic frame by Rialto. The chain handle is not original to the bag, which more than likely had a matching black acrylic handle.  From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

24 Mar 1964, Tue The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) Newspapers.com

Harvey Tatelman said that after he graduated from college, he started a factory—“the size of a small bedroom”—and began producing clear plastic change purses. He was struggling to make a living, and his wife Claire, who worked in the fashion industry, was the primary income earner for the family. 

When he first saw Claire Rosenblum, he knew he wanted to date her, so he managed to get her phone number. As the most beautiful young woman on campus, she was very popular, and wouldn’t return his calls. Claire’s mother always answered the telephone—and always told him Claire was unavailable. One day, he decided to try a different tactic. The conversation went something like this: “Oh, Harvey, it’s you again. You probably want to talk to Claire,” said her mother. “No, I called to talk to you,” said Harvey. He proceeded to tell Claire’s mother, “She’s so beautiful that she probably gets it from you.” And that’s how he managed to get past her mother and finally get Claire to talk to him. (The Vintage Purse Museum’s curator jokingly suggested that Mr. Tatelman had “Eddie Haskelled” his way to Claire.) The pair went on a first date, and, to Claire’s surprise, he was a complete gentleman, unlike most of her other suitors. She was intrigued enough to go on a second date. Claire and Harvey married in 1950, and had two sons.

Claire Fashions interior bag imprint from bag directly below.

Carriage motif handbag by Claire Fashions, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

A talented designer, Mr. Tatelman was working in his small factory making clear vinyl coin purses, and got an idea for a new style. He decided to call the largest millinery flowers’ factory in China to ask if he could purchase small fabric flowers from them. They said they didn’t have small flowers, but they did have bits of flowers left over from the larger ones. He said he paid “nothing” for a case of one million artificial flower pieces. Tatelman Co. employees pressed these flower bits between two layers of clear plastic, which were then assembled into change purses.

Mr. Tatelman told us he approached Al Feiffer (Albert M. Feiffer, 1916-2018), operator of the “Paris Shop” gift store at the Fontainebleau Hotel (and four other locations), and asked if he'd be interested in carrying some of the floral-motif change purses at his establishments. Mr. Feiffer promptly placed a huge order, then proceeded to create a somewhat risqué (for the time) advertising campaign for these newly-dubbed “flowers under glass” purses. According to Mr. Tatelman, signs in the Paris Shops said something along the lines of: “Ladies, get your boyfriend to give you a ‘FUG’!” 

Claire Fashions plastic-covered "flowers under glass" handbag with vase motif consisting of appliques, trims, needlepoint, and faux pearls. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

28 Apr 1965, Wed Stockton Evening and Sunday Record (Stockton, California) Newspapers.com

Mr. Feiffer had taken over management of the Paris Shop chain of stores after the 1951 passing of his father, Sidney Feiffer. We emailed the Fontainebleau Hotel, asking if they had any archives that referenced the Paris Shop, but they didn’t respond. However, our friend, Miami photographer and historian Phillip Pessar, kindly went to the Miami-Dade Public Library where he found several 1950s city telephone directories that helped immensely in furthering our research, including verifying Al Feiffer's name, and our subsequent discovery of the advertisement directly below.

19 Jul 1959, Sun The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) Newspapers.com

The “FUG” purse became so desirable that hundreds, then thousands, were made at the Tatelman Co. factory. “From that purse,” said Harvey Tatelman, “I got into pocketbook making.” (Read our article for information about handbag industry verbiage, including the word “pocketbook.”) He told us that he started with five or six workers, but thanks to Mr. Feiffer and the FUG purse ad campaign, he eventually grew his company to 165 employees. 

"Flowers under glass" wasn't a new concept, but Mr. Feiffer certainly found an innovative (and slightly scandalous!) way to reinvent it. We found the term “flowers under glass” in the newspaper archives as early as the 1840s to describe a way to display wax flowers. We then started to see “flowers under glass” in ads for see-through table lamps in the 1930s (all the way into the 1970s); as a pressed-flowers home-craft in the early to mid-1950s; then, by 1955, it was used in fashion, with ads for “flowers under glass” handbags, hats, and lingerie. There was also a cologne called “Fleur Savage” that used the words “flowers under glass” in several advertisements.

Pair of floral-motif Claire Fashions handbags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

09 Apr 1965, Fri The Shreveport Journal (Shreveport, Louisiana) Newspapers.com

Per the 1958 Industrial Directory of New York State, Tatleman Co. was located at 552 W. Broadway, New York City, and was the maker of “small novelty purse items” and “vinyl handbags.” 

When asked about memorable former employees, Mr. Tatelman told us the story of Irma. She was a physically disabled woman who would wait outside the factory for the lunch trucks to arrive in order to earn money by helping them with food service. One day, Mr. Tatelman asked Irma if she wanted a job. She explained that she couldn't stand on her feet for very long because of her disability. He asked if she could sew. She said yes, and that's how she became a longterm employee. During our second phone interview with him, Mr. Tatelman told us that Irma had recently called to say she was hoping to visit him in Florida soon.

He said that he prioritized the comfort and working conditions of his employees so much that, 60 years later, former employees or their relatives often call to check on him. In fact, in the middle of one of The Vintage Purse Museum's curator's phone calls with him, a child of a former employee called to make sure he was safe during the recent Florida hurricanes.

Claire Fashions plastic-covered bag with sun motif. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

The Vintage Purse Museum has in its collection 15 labeled Claire Fashions handbags, but we believe we may have more, and that the interior gold imprint has possibly worn off the lining over time. Most of the Claire Fashions bags in our collection are the Tatelman Co.'s signature clear vinyl-covered designs with flowers and other motifs, a technique that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was utilized by many other bag makers. 

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, prior to the production of these handbags, Mr. Tatelman invented two items that are collectible today, although one was not a success at the time. That would be the early 1950s “Spectapurse Opticase.” We've joked that this sounds like a Harry Potter spell, but it's actually an eyeglass case that came in a large variety of fabrics. We’ve seen this advertised for purchase as both an eyeglass case and as a "carryall" or evening bag, sold by department stores and given away by optometrists. Mr. Tatelman told us he had distributors for the Spectapurse that were responsible for finding wholesale clients. He also said that the frames were supplied by the J.E. Mergott company. The Spectapurse had two types of frames: one with a single loop clasp, and another with a double-sided clasp that resembled eyeglasses.

Pair of Spectapurse Opticase eyeglass holders, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

05 May 1952, Mon The Reporter Dispatch (White Plains, New York) Newspapers.com

19 Nov 1955, Sat The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com
The second obscure—but more profitable—item created by Mr. Tatelman was another complete surprise to us: a playing card case. By coincidence, The Vintage Purse Museum's very first phone call with him was the day after we’d put a photo of our collection's card cases on our Facebook page. It was Mr. Tatelman who mentioned the card case, as well as the Spectapurse, during our initial conversation, and there may have been a ladylike shriek of excitement on our end.

Mr. Tatelman told us that one day, while working at his factory, he received a call from a gentleman he referred to as "Mr. Fisk of the United States Playing Card Company" (est. 1867, famous maker of Bicycle and other card lines). Mr. Fisk asked Mr. Tatelman if he had a handbag that would accommodate two decks of cards, as he wanted to showcase them as a new product for an upcoming stationery trade show. This was likely circa 1950, when the double-deck card game Canasta was becoming extremely popular in the US. 

Pair of card cases, also marketed as evening bags, by Tatelman Co. Both came to us with the decks of cards inside. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

09 Dec 1951, Sun The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) Newspapers.com 

18 Dec 1951, Tue Syracuse Herald-Journal (Syracuse, New York) Newspapers.com
Mr. Tatelman, who told us he would always say “yes” when someone asked if he could do something, assured Mr. Fisk that he indeed had such an item in his inventory. It turned out that he’d previously created a line of small clutch bags meant for children, but that they had not sold well. These clutch bags, covered in fabric and with a frame similar in fashion to the Spectapurse Opticase, just happened to be able to hold two decks of cards. The success of these card cases, said Mr. Tatelman, was phenomenal.

We did some digging and discovered that "Mr. Fisk" was Morton F. Fisk (1908-1970), executive vice president of the ARRCO Playing Card Co., which was later acquired by US Playing Card Co. 

Duratone brand plastic-coated playing cards were a product of ARRCO, which already had among its accessories a line of alligator-skin double-deck card cases. As this style is somewhat "masculine," we believe Mr. Tatelman’s attractive fabric-covered cases were acquired by ARRCO to appeal to the female demographic, or, as the old ads said, “Milady” or "My Lady."

While Mr. Tatelman doesn’t consider every item he designed to be a success, he most certainly had a habit of being in the right place at the right time with the right product. He explains this as a series of accidental occurrences throughout his life.

“I was born with a gift to design and make these things,” he said. “But all I was doing was trying to make a living. I always had an eye to coordinate things and put things together. But then I found people who were interested. I became successful by accident and not by plan.” 

He was also the patent holder of a 1963 reversible handbag called the “Flip-Flapper,” but couldn’t recall if these were a big seller.

Harvey Tatelman's patent for the Flip-Flapper reversible handbag, screenshot from Google Patents.

05 Sep 1963, Thu Ridgewood Herald-News (Ridgewood, New Jersey) Newspapers.com

 

In addition to the clear vinyl-covered Claire Fashions bags in our collection, we have a bucket bag with a bejeweled horse, and another with cork-like fabric and embellished with sequined fish appliques. (Both pictured below, along with a newspaper ad for similar bags.)

Mr. Tatelman isn’t sure when he stopped manufacturing handbags, but we could not find newspaper ads for Claire Fashions bags after 1965. However, we do know that 1967-1968 is when many handbag makers ceased operations due to the "Kennedy Round" of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which made it less expensive to bring imports to the US from Asia rather than manufacturing them domestically.

Claire Fashions embellished horse bag, similar in style to Enid Collins of Texas. Mr. Tatelman told us this was not a popular line for his company, which is likely why there aren't many available today. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Cork-like fabric bag with sequined fish motif by Claire Fashions. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

26 Apr 1964, Sun The Fresno Bee (Fresno, California) Newspapers.com

Even though Mr. Tatelman stopped making Claire Fashions bags, he continued his long career designing and producing accessories, working with major companies such as Florsheim and Trifari. 

Claire and Harvey Tatelman retired to Florida in the 1980s, and eventually purchased a beautiful home in Boynton Beach, which they enhanced with the creation of an elaborate Japanese garden designed by Harvey. Per a 2009 newspaper article about the couple and their garden, it was a restful place for Claire, who had been battling cancer. Claire Tatelman passed away in 2020. 

Harvey Tatelman, now 99-years-old, continues to work in the garden, a loving homage to his wife, and a testament to a life well-lived, chock full of truly happy accidents.

18 May 2009, Mon The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com

A huge thank you to Harvey Tatelman for sharing his story. Special thanks to Phillip Pessar. Other resources used were Newspapers.com and MyHeritage.com, to which we have paid subscriptions, and Google. This article c2024 by The Vintage Purse Museum/Wendy Dager. Please do not use photos or information from our website without requesting permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.