SPECIAL POST: The History of Koret Handbags and The Enigmatic Richard Koret

Four examples of elegant Koret black leather handbags with gold trim. This classic styling sometimes make them difficult to date. We were able to pinpoint the bag at the upper left to 1956, per the ad below. All four bags are from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

13 Dec 1956, Thu Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

The History of Koret Handbags and The Enigmatic Richard Koret

Koret handbags are known for their classic elegance, quality workmanship, and distinctive leaping antelope logo. The Koret company made countless handbags during its eight decades in business, but we were interested in learning more about its founder Richard Koret (1901-1965). When The Vintage Purse Museum set a course for yet another deep dive, we knew that this facet of our investigation would be a significant challenge. 

Richard Koret never married or had children, and after we did preliminary research, we were fairly certain that he was estranged from his family. Therefore, when we reached out to his relatives, we weren’t sure if they would respond. We were thrilled when we received an enthusiastic reply from Marcy Kagan, whose mother was Richard’s cousin. Ms. Kagan helped clear up some misinformation that appears on the genealogy website to which we subscribe. Her clarification of Richard Koret’s familial relationships was essential to our finding other personal information for this article.

The man who eventually became known as Richard Koret was born in 1901 in Russia. The name he used after becoming a US resident was Samuel Koretsky, but his birth name was more than likely “Shmuel” (Yiddish for “Samuel”), and his surname was likely phonetically similar to “Koretsky,” the spelling adopted by the family when they came to the US. There were several Richard and Samuel Korets/Koretskys born around the same time as the man who grew up to be a famous handbag maker, which made it somewhat difficult to sort through early biographical information. Adding to the confusion is that there was another Samuel Koret (1917-2004) who was also in the handbag business, and held a 1958 patent for a handbag frame.

Our Mr. Koret eventually renamed himself Richard Samuel Koretsky, then changed it permanently to Richard Koret. (Other Koretsky family members also shortened their last name to Koret.) In newspaper articles about him and his handbags, Richard was often called the more familiar “Dick Koret.” 

Koret 1955 satin with rhinestone watch-clasp evening bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. See our watch bag pictorial here.

21 Dec 1955, Wed The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) Newspapers.com

There were some early tragedies and complex circumstances in Richard’s life that may have shaped some of his decisions as an adult. We don't know exactly what happened, and must emphasize that there is no blame or responsibility to be placed on anyone who has long since passed and is not here to tell their story.

The 1910 US Census showed that Richard Koret’s father and mother were Pinchas (1864-1926) and Sophie Koretsky (1868-1915), and that Richard had four older brothers. However, Marcy Kagan told us this was not accurate. Pinchas and Sophie were his grandfather and step-grandmother, which was alluded to in a 1948 newspaper article about Richard Koret. A paragraph from the article poignantly reads: “Behind every handbag with the familiar gazelle emblem there's a rags-to-riches story whose hero is Richard Koret, an orphan boy from Europe who started a business in 1929 during the depression. Brought up by his grandparents in Massachusetts, he spent his teenage years delivering packages for a stationer, dressing windows and running errands. At 19 he started selling handbags though he was told he'd never amount to anything in the handbag business.” 

Per Koretsky family lore, Pinchas and his first wife, whose name was believed to be Leah, had three sons and a daughter. Leah passed away in their home country of Russia, and Pinchas married Sophie, who had two sons of her own. One of Pinchas’s adult sons (name unknown) married a woman (name unknown), and Richard Koret was their son. Ms. Kagan told us that Richard’s biological father was said to have passed away in Russia when Richard was an infant, and Richard's biological mother abandoned him. He was then taken in by his paternal grandparents. We were unsuccessful at finding records to verify the names and birth and death dates of Richard Koret's parents or his biological grandmother. Also, please note that spellings of some names, including Pinchas's and Sophie's, vary in documents, as do some birth years.

1940s-1950s Koret oblong brown suede box bag with gold trim and sequins. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Of great historical importance is that the period 1902-1907 was when antisemitism was escalating in Russia and surrounding regions, and many Jews escaped to the US and elsewhere. Some families were unable to travel together, which led to refugees living in and around port cities such as Liverpool or Bremen, where they waited for a ship to take them to the US. This is likely why the Koretsky family arrived in the US at separate times, on different ships.

Pinchas was said to have come to the US before the rest of the family, but we could not find a record of his travels. We tried various spellings of “Koretsky” and found a 1906 ship’s manifest that listed a woman and four children—three sons and a daughter, with a similarly spelled surname: “Kriwetzky.” (Many surnames were recorded phonetically on manifests by port clerks.) While their first names were not yet Americanized, most of the birthdates lined up with Pinchas’s second wife, two of the four living sons, a daughter, and the grandson who grew up to become Richard Koret. However, we cannot definitively say that this is the correct Koretsky family.

We did, however, find a 1908 manifest that accurately documents the US emigration of the remaining two children: Pinchas’s young adult son and Sophie’s teenage son.

Per the 1910 US Census, the Attelboro, Massachusetts household consisted of Pinchas’s two surviving sons, Sophie’s two sons, and Samuel (Richard), who was mistakenly identified as another son rather than grandson. The four adult sons worked in the jewelry business. Samuel (Richard) was nine-years-old at the time. Pinchas's age was listed as 45, and the occupation line was blank. It is unclear what happened to Pinchas's daughter, but she may have passed away shortly after emigrating, and prior to the 1910 Census.

Sophie died in 1915, and it’s very possible this was yet another tragic loss for Richard, who would’ve been 14 at the time of her passing. We have no idea how Sophie’s death affected the family dynamic, or if it contributed to Richard later going what we would now call “low contact” with the family. 

It appears that the Koretsky family first lived in Massachusetts, then Rhode Island, areas that are both well known for silversmithing and the manufacture of fine and costume jewelry. We found address directories indicating that Pinchas (using the name Peter) may have been in the jewelry business, then, later, in the dry goods business. 

1950s gold lame' coin purse with key chain, from Koret's circa 1958-1960 "Deb" accessories line. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

On his WWI draft registration card dated Sept. 12, 1918, Richard says he was working for the American Stationery Company in Rhode Island, and that his nearest relative was his grandfather, Peter Koretsky. Given the patriotism of the era, it’s not unusual that he shaved a year off his age and said he was 18, when he was actually 17.

By 1920, Richard was no longer living with his grandfather, although we could not find him listed in the US Census. It is likely that he had moved to New York around that time. The earliest New York address directory listing we could find online with his name was from 1923. It’s a bit blurry because of how the directory was scanned, so we could barely make out the details. The company he worked for was also unclear, but appeared to be "Herman Bag Mfg." We confirmed this when we found the 1948 edition of "Who's Who in the East," which stated that Mr. Koret became a partner at Herman Bag Mfg. in 1924, and was executive vice president and treasurer before leaving the firm to establish his own company. 

According to the website of The Bag Lady, designer Max Holzman also worked for Herman Bag Mfg., which was acquired by high-end bag maker Mark Cross in 1936. Max Holzman is perhaps best known for designing the 1954 Mark Cross "Rear Window" overnight bag carried by Grace Kelly.

Per his 1924 US naturalization application, Mr. Koret was a “traveling salesman.” His name on the naturalization application is “Samuel Koretsky also known as Richard Samuel Koret.” 

Richard Koret publicity photo from Findagrave.com. We do not know the date or original source of this photo, but if you do, please email us at vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com so that we can give proper photo credit.

When he became a naturalized US citizen in 1927, he was officially Richard Samuel Koret, “mfr. of ladies pocketbooks” with the address 161 Madison Ave. We also found numerous 1920s-1950s ship and plane manifests that documented his travels. European trips were common for midcentury handbag makers looking for trends, materials, or other items to bring back to the US as inspiration for their wares.

An early business partner of Richard Koret’s was Henry K. Gould (1908-1963). Travel and other records state that Mr. Gould was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. We found his birth record, which includes his parents' names and his original surname (a variation of Gould), but, much like Richard Koret, he is a bit of a mystery. However, Mr. Gould did make personal appearances on behalf of Koret handbags at stores and events from the 1930s through the 1960s. We reached out to relatives of Mr. Gould, but they have not responded. We will update this post if we do.

1980s Koret white leather bag with brochure that includes an order form for Koret leather conditioner. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

On Henry Gould’s 1940 WWII selective service (draft) registration, he lists his employer as Koret of 33 E. 33rd St. This was a popular address/neighborhood for the offices and showrooms of midcentury bag makers. Richard Koret was listed as a friend, as well as in the box on the form labeled “person who will always know your address.” Henry Gould lived on Park Ave. and Richard Koret's home address was, at this time, on East 74th St. These were both what would be considered posh locations.

Koret leaping antelope logo as a metal handbag fob. We found a newspaper ad (below) that appears to have a similar "medallion" with a bag from 1954, but we don't know if ours came from this year and style of handbag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

28 Oct 1954, Thu Birmingham Post-Herald (Birmingham, Alabama) Newspapers.com

Richard Koret’s WWII selective service registration dated 1942 lists Malcolm Kingsberg in the box labeled “person who will always know your address.” He was 41 years old in 1942. Men past the usual selective service age range were eligible for what was called the "old man's draft," which meant they could potentially be called to serve in non-combat positions should they be needed during wartime.

Malcom Kingsberg (1900-1970) was a longtime friend, business partner, and an executor of Richard Koret’s estate after his death. Mr. Kingsberg was born in Massachusetts, where his parents owned a jewelry store. He went on to become a well-known theatre and television executive. We reached out to the Kingsberg family, and one member (name withheld for privacy) kindly responded. We told them we were trying to find someone who may have known Mr. Koret, so they checked with a family elder, but they were unable to recall any details about Mr. Kingsberg and Mr. Koret's friendship and business partnerships. 

We learned from Robert Messenger's ozTypewriter blog that, in 1937, Richard Koret and Malcolm Kingsberg purchased the Barr Typewriter Corp. That same year, they relocated the company from Ithaca, New York to Weedsport, New York. This seems to have been a business decision based on being able to use the typewriter company’s existing machinery to manufacture facile frames, an innovative type of handbag hardware that Richard Koret began producing to use in his bags.

One resource said these bags sold for $7.50 to $59, and additional licensees of the frame included makers of tobacco pouches, briefcases, and other items. 

Koret textured silk envelope clutch with facile frame, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Facile frame opening of clutch bag pictured above.

06 Jan 1939, Fri The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, Ohio) Newspapers.com 

Several 1938-1939 newspaper advertorials featured Richard Koret and fellow bag maker Herbert Bienen of Bienen-Davis partnering to market handbags made with the facile frame, which one article said had been invented French designer “Edward La Marthe.” We believe this to be leather goods maker Alfred Edouarde La Marthe (1869-1940), whose company is still in business. Mr. La Marthe had numerous European patents. Here is one of his patents (filed 1929) for a handbag closure. 

Mr. Koret also appeared in a photo in the February 1939 issue of Mechanix Illustrated, demonstrating how the frame worked. That same year, he was an exhibitor in the “Hall of Fashion” at the New York World’s Fair. The online index card that we found documenting his participation in the World’s Fair does not show the types of bags he was exhibiting, so we don't know if the facile frame styles were among them. 

Original 1939 New York World's Fair post card, featuring the "Hall of Fashion" building where Richard Koret was an exhibitor. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

In 1940, the Barr company’s facilities were used to manufacture aircraft ignition switches. It was not uncommon for handbag companies to lend their machinery or factory space to assist with the war effort. In 1942, Richard Koret was asked to design handbags for the US military uniforms of WACs, SPARs, WAVEs, and female Marines. 

Photo of Pearl Brown, a member of the US Marine Corps Women's Reserve in WWII, and great-aunt of The Vintage Purse Museum's curator. She is wearing her military uniform, with a handbag possibly designed by Richard Koret. Photo used with permission of Pearl's daughter Susan.

We found a 1944 issue of "Poor's Register of Directors and Executives, United States and Canada," listing Richard Koret as president and director of Koret, president of Barr Typewriter, and president of Facile Fastener Corp. “Fa-Cile” was the spelling used in most documents and advertisements for this product. We found one reference that said Mr. Koret and Mr. Kingsberg sold the Barr company in 1943, which we could not confirm.

By 1945, the war had ended and the Barr Corp. was having a surplus sale of scrap metal. Barr Corp. declared bankruptcy in 1947. It is unclear what happened to Fa-Cile Fastener Co., but we believe the frames stayed in production, primarily for home crafting use, under new ownership. We found a 1950 corporation filing for this name, and a dissolution date of 1991. 

The loss of the typewriter company and frame business did not seem to negatively impact Mr. Koret or his handbag enterprise. The Vintage Purse Museum has seen many complimentary references to him in bag-related articles and advertorials. His name also occasionally appeared in newspaper society columns.

Koret red leather bag with embossed reptile design. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Koret logo inside bag above.

A good part of his genius was that he excelled at self-promotion. For instance, in 1939, he spearheaded "Color Affiliates," a group of manufacturers of different fashion items including Koret handbags, Kislav gloves, Palter DeLiso shoes, Elizabeth Arden cosmetics and others. Ostensibly, this was to make it easier for consumers to coordinate their wardrobes, but in reality, it was darn good marketing. This brilliant joining of forces is what we'd refer to today as a "collab."

Ad for "Color Affiliates," Life Magazine, Sept. 9, 1940, screenshot from Google Books.

Mr. Koret was alleged to have been the first to use suede as a handbag fabric, as well as single-handedly popularize the "underarm" (clutch) style bag. Newspaper fashion columnists also said that he was a pioneer in adding a plethora of pockets to accommodate the many items a woman carries. We're not sure these claims are entirely accurate, but they did become a staple of handbag folklore. The Vintage Purse Museum has long theorized that if Richard Koret said a bag style was trending, it was because he had created that trend. However, he was also thoughtful about his consumer demographic, and savvy enough to modify styles to meet its needs. This included adjusting the larger, utilitarian military handbag for civilian women joining the workforce in droves during and after the war. 

Koret blue cabretta leather "triangle" bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. Ad from March 20, 1956, The San Francisco Examiner, clipped via paid subscription to Newspapers.com.

Additionally, he took note of the home-crafted styles made from found items that became popular directly after the implementation of the 20 percent federal excise “luxury” handbag tax of 1944, which created a decline in store-bought bag sales. Within a year, he was promoting Koret handbags that resembled the fishing creels, wood boxes, and postal mail bags that were utilized in the homemade versions. As a company that was widely known for its leather handbags—a fabric that was being rationed to bag makers during wartime—Koret, like other manufacturers of this period, needed to source alternative materials. (Unlike leather shoes, leather handbags were not rationed to consumers during the war.)

22 Apr 1945, Sun Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) Newspapers.com 

Six Quick Facts About Richard Koret and The Koret Bag Company 

1. There is no connection between the Koret handbag company and the Koret of California apparel company or the Coret of Canada handbag manufacturer.

2. Richard Koret was an early member (1935) of the Ladies Handbag Authority.

3. In 1938, Richard Koret was a guest at a party at the New York home of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Krussman, who were celebrating their 25th anniversary. Also in attendance were Mr. and Mrs. Gustavo Trifari. Gustavo Trifari was namesake and founder of the Trifari jewelry company, and Leo Krussman was Mr. Trifari’s business partner.

4. In 1950, Richard Koret was romantically linked to “I Married Joan” actress Joan Davis (1912-1961), who refused to confirm or deny this rumor.  

5. He once employed handbag icon Judith Leiber as a designer. In a 1970 newspaper article, Ms. Leiber said she was fired from Koret, which was the impetus for starting her own company. 

6. Richard Koret occasionally commissioned artist Vladimir Bobri (1898-1986) to create fanciful ads for Koret handbags.

Vladimir Bobri-designed Koret "Slackadazicals" advertisement. Original ad from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

We don’t know how or why he came to use the leaping antelope (or deer or gazelle) logo, or when it was first imprinted on the lining of Koret handbags. Upon searching through the US trademark database, we learned that there have been several owners of the logo over many years, starting with Koret, Inc. 

The were different incarnations of this logo over decades, and a number of intended uses—other than handbags, luggage, and leather goods—including pens, fragrances, dresses, gloves, pajamas, and more. Among the Koret derivative names that appeared with the leaping antelope logo were: Koret USA, Koret America, Koret Luxe, Koret Classics, Koret Deb, and Miss Koret.  Additionally, in 1948, Richard Koret started "Tresor," a Koret subsidiary that primarily made evening bags. Tresor appears to have been active until about 1957.

Koret Tresor evening bags, with their respective interior imprints. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

There were several Koret namesake materials such as the non-crockable suede Koretolope (1942), Koretta (1969), and faux patent leather Korettalak (1973). Koret was just one of the many midcentury handbag makers that created catchy, semi-eponymous names for new fabrics and fabric blends. 

Koret also had a 1942 product called "Korantelope," which got the company in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission. FTC officials felt that the "antelope" part of this word was misleading, since the bags were made of leather and not actual antelope. The leaping antelope logo was considered a contributor to this confusion, but Koret was somehow able to keep it.

Koret "Koretolope" navy blue 1960s suede bag with cut floral pattern on the left, interior imprint on the right. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Korettalak 1970s patent leather bag on the left, interior imprint on the right. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Here's a partial list of the key people associated with Koret handbags during Richard Koret’s tenure: Tresor manager William G. McGowan, Koret sales representative/manager Harold Feigelson (1926-1996), and Koret board member Morton L. Deitch (1901-1997), a well-respected Manhattan lawyer and child care advocate. Also on the board was Bennett Somberg (1919-2002), nephew of bag maker/importer Joseph Newman and former employee of his company, Josef handbags (a subsidiary of Gold Seal Importers). Mr. Somberg was secretary of Koret, and became vice president upon Henry K. Gould’s death in 1963. He remained at the company until about 1968.

Koret patent leather and straw bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Logo and patent number inside bag above.

04 Apr 1976, Sun Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

On November 14, 1965, Richard Koret boarded a Lear Jet Model 23 eight-passenger plane at the Palm Springs airport, destined for Burbank, California. The plane crashed near Indio, California, with no survivors. An investigation conducted by the NTSB said that the crash was “likely due to spatial disorientation of the pilot, resulting in loss of control.” Another Lear Jet pilot on a different flight said the weather wasn’t good that evening—it was raining and it was an extremely dark night. Eight people were killed in addition to Mr. Koret: Pilot Paul Kelly, copilot David Faulkner, passengers George and Mildred Alexander, their son and daughter-in-law Robert and Helene Alexander, and 11-year-old Peter Prescott, the son of Flying Tigers airline's president. 

Richard Koret had a long connection to the West Coast, and a number of his friends lived in the Palm Springs/Indio area, including the aforementioned actress Joan Davis. Another clue to his extensive ties to California is that his WWII selective service card was filed in New York, but signed off by a draft registrar in Indio. 

We were told by a relative of Bennett Somberg, then vice president of Koret, that Mr. Somberg was supposed to be on that ill-fated flight, and that his family was frantic until they finally heard that he was safe. A different individual told us that bag maker Julius Resnick was invited to go with Richard Koret on this trip but declined. 

Mr. Koret’s friends and business associates Malcom Kingsberg, Morton L. Deitch, and Leon Goldberg were executors of his estate. A substantial portion went to Brandeis University, where two chairs were endowed in Richard Koret’s name. We reached out to Brandeis several years ago in hopes that they had Richard Koret’s papers or something of that nature to help us document his history, and they kindly answered, but did not have any records. 

After his death, Richard Koret’s home in Westchester, New York was sold to Hobart Durbin Lewis (1909-2011), CEO and editor-in-chief of Readers Digest. It appears that it took about two years to sell the Koret handbag company. In 1967, Thomas “Tom” Tillander (listed as CEO) filed a certificate of incorporation on behalf of Gordon International, Ltd. This was the company helmed by Michael Gordon (1923-1998), who then took over operations of Koret. Mr. Tillander was also an inventor of luggage and handbag-adjacent items, and alternately held the titles of president and vice president at Koret. 

Top photo: Wavy pattern quilted bag by Koret, from the estate of Dr. Marjorie Peebles-Meyers. Bottom photo: this bag came to us with a case labeled with the Koret logo and Saks Fifth Avenue, attached coin purse, and a theatre ticket. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

The jewelry company Coro, Inc. (Cohn & Rosenberger) was in negotiations to purchase Koret handbags in 1969. This was the same year that Coro was in the midst of 51 percent of its stock being acquired by Richton International Corp. We found several resources that said Richton acquired a number of fashion brands at this time, along with its purchase of Coro. There are differing accounts as to whether Richton's acquisition of Koret was finalized. Michael Gordon announced it in 1970 to the Jewelers' Circular, an industry publication, but it remains unclear if this acquisition went through. The only potential evidence of a connection that we could find was a 1976 handbag handle patent filed by Michael Gordon of Koret, and a patent with a consecutive number filed for a wallet by Franc M. Ricciardi (1923-1989) of Richton International. Further documentation is needed to confirm an acquisition or at least some sort of association between the two corporations or their two chief executives. If there isn't one, then it's certainly an odd coincidence that these two patents were numbered consecutively.

Several online resources indicate that Richton International Corp. purchased the remainder of Coro's shares in 1970. Coro folded in 1979. Richton eventually had business interests in a completely different industry, and it appears to have been absorbed by another company in 2001. 

Michael Gordon (1923-1998) is yet another mystery man in this story of Koret. He told a newspaper reporter that he'd emigrated to the US from Hungary in 1951, and we did find a ship’s passenger manifest that lines up with this. Another publication said he was a "self-made millionaire" that came to the US "after the war" with $175 to his name. 

In a 1971 article, Mr. Gordon said he had been an accomplished musician in Hungary, but his father encouraged him to go into the handbag business. We don’t know if this means in sales or manufacturing, but the art of leather making was a popular skill in Hungary. There were a number of well-known Hungarian handbag makers that emigrated to the US, including Judith Leiber, Arnold Garay, Deszo and Lily Rotkel (Delill handbags), and Magda Makkay, who worked at Koret for a time, per her interview with Lizzie Bramlet, The Vintage Traveler. 

It is unclear where Michael Gordon was employed between his US emigration in 1951 and 1967, the year he acquired Koret. However, we did find 1957 and 1958 directory listings for a "Mickey Gordon," president of handbag manufacturer Mondaine, Inc. In Ms. Bramlet's interview with Magda Makkay, she refers to Mr. Gordon as "Mickey."

01 Jul 1971, Thu The Reporter-Times (Martinsville, Indiana) Newspapers.com

Mr. Gordon appeared in a few newspaper articles about Koret, but it seems that he stayed mostly behind the scenes. Under his leadership, Koret became a licensee of high end companies Givenchy, Dior, and Pierre Cardin, and merged Koret with Walborg Corp. in 1990. The Vintage Purse Museum wrote an article about the history of Walborg in 2020, and this merger was something we only recently learned of during our investigation of Koret.

Longtime handbag industry executive and CEO of Aspects Handbag Co, Inc. Stuart Gustin (1931-2011) was named CEO of Koret in 1995, but other than a small announcement in a trade publication, we could find no further information.

Michael Gordon passed away in January 1998. Just eight months later, in September 1998, there was a liquidation sale conducted by finance valuation company Appraisal Economics, Inc. of all of Koret’s assets, including 30,000 Koret, Pierre Cardin, and Walborg handbags; plus trademarks, trade names, office furniture, raw materials, machinery and more. 

There was a brief 1999 regional newspaper article that said that Michael Bannout of M. London handbags was going to take over Koret’s designs. We were able to confirm via telephone call with Paul Engel of Appraisal Economics, Inc. that Mr. Bannout purchased some of the products during the 1998 liquidation sale. 

Mr. Engel also shared with us that it was a very exciting and challenging experience for employees of their valuation company, and that he remembered it well. He said that his company was contacted by Tom Tillander of Koret to handle the liquidation. During the course of the preparation and sale of Koret's assets, Mr. Engel and his staff would pile into a car in New Jersey, where their office was located, and drive into Manhattan, where Koret was housed at 136 Madison Ave. It was a very old building with an old-fashioned elevator that Mr. Engel and his coworkers enjoyed taking turns operating. He said that this project was memorable in that the building was vast, with multiple floors, and many pieces of equipment and products, as well as some vintage items that weren't even part of a handbag operation. In particular, Mr. Engel recalled that in the basement was a huge set of wrought iron gates. The Vintage Purse Museum's curator wondered if it may have come from Richard Koret's Westchester estate, and told Mr. Engel that this estate was later owned by the CEO of Reader's Digest. In yet another "small world" moment, Mr. Engel then told us that Reader's Digest had been one of Appraisal Economics, Inc.'s clients.

He also shared with us that buyers of Koret's items came into the building during the liquidation process for tours, and were able to bid on lots in a sort of silent auction format. Not everything sold, he said, including some of the trademarked items. At first, The Vintage Purse Museum theorized that this may have been the Pierre Cardin-tagged products, as the Pierre Cardin company licensed its name to many companies in all sorts of industries, and may have had a clause in its contract to surrender items to Pierre Cardin under circumstances such as liquidation. However, it's also possible there may have been some leftover inventory labeled Givenchy, whose licensing contract with Koret expired in 1994, or Dior, a Koret licensee from 1972-1984, that were not allowed to be sold during the liquidation process. Please note that The Vintage Purse Museum is only speculating, and this is yet another piece of Koret's story that is likely lost to time.

In 1999, after its dissolution, the trade name "Koret, Inc." was acquired by licensing company Joan Hansen & Co. We were able to confirm with their representative that they no longer own it. Per our search of the trademark database, it appears that ANLU LLC holds current registration of the antelope trademark. 

The original Koret handbag company, established by Richard Koret, was officially declared inactive in 2000 after 70 years in business. 

From 1929 until 1998, Koret produced beautiful, fine quality products. It also had more than its share of twists, turns, and tragedies. There were a few red herrings that made it a challenge to document its full history, but we did our best to provide a plethora of knowledge about the company, and all we could learn about Richard Koret, the enigmatic man behind the leaping gazelle.

This article c2025 by Wendy Dager/The Vintage Purse Museum. A huge thank you to Marcy Kagan. Thanks also to Robert Messenger, Paul Engel, Lizzie Bramlet of The Vintage Traveler, cousin Susan, the Joan Hansen & Co. rep, and the Kingsberg relative. Other resources were MyHeritage.com and Newspapers.com, to which we have paid subscriptions. We also scoured numerous websites, including The Bag Lady, Findagrave.com, Google.com, the New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Internet Archive, Familysearch.org, Costumejewelrycollectors.com, and the US Department of Transportation's National Transportation Library. Please do not use any information or photos from the article or our website without permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.