The Vintage Purse Museum Photo and History Archive

Photos of bags, accessories, and ephemera from our collection, plus handbag facts and histories.

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SPECIAL POST: The Elaine Shop - An Iconic Florida Boutique

on August 22, 2025

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The Vintage Purse Museum

For more about the collection visit vintagepursemuseum.com

The Vintage Purse Museum has had an online presence since 2007.

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SPECIAL POST: The History of Corde Handbags and The Machines That Made Them

SPECIAL POST: The History of Corde Handbags and The Machines That Made Them With input from the children of a corde handbag maker Most 1930s-1950s corde bags were black, navy or brown, made on an 1860s Cornely-Bonnaz machine. These are an unusual coral color and multicolored brown, tan and ivory, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. When The Vintage Purse Museum embarked on a quest to research the creation of 1930s-1950s highly collectible corde handbags, we had no idea the number of rabbit holes we’d be climbing in and out of. After many months of gathering information, we're excited to share this article with you. For simplicity, we refer to this embroidery as "corde" throughout, even though it is known by different spellings. Be sure to scroll all the way down for photos, newspaper ads, documents and bonus fun facts. Corde clutch with silver floral embroidered embellishment on the flap. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. Let’s start with how t...

SPECIAL POST! Article about Morris Moskowitz, Premier Handbag Manufacturer - With input from his family

SPECIAL POST! Morris Moskowitz, Premier Handbag Manufacturer Research culled from newspaper articles, advertisements and other documents, as well as fact-checking and additional information from the Moskowitz/Benjamin family, to whom we are grateful. Dramatic wine-colored "ruby" velvet MM handbag with attached coin purse. 1960s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. A stickler for quality, Morris Moskowitz and his trademark “MM” label epitomize a well-tailored, conscientiously evolving handbag fashion of the mid-century. Born August 28, 1911, the second of five children of Hyman and Rose Moskowitz, Morris grew up on New York’s Lower East Side. Morris Moskowitz started working at age 10, eventually quitting school at age 14, per a newspaper article. (Unconfirmed, however, a relative said family lore indicates he only completed the eighth grade and started working full time in order to help his siblings ...

SPECIAL POST! The History of Julius Resnick "JR" Handbags

SPECIAL POST – Julius Resnick – JR Handbags – With input from a close family friend Adorable box bag, one of many styles made over six decades by the Julius Resnick handbag company. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. The Vintage Purse Museum is excited to share the story of JR, one of the world’s most prolific mid-century handbag brands, whose popular designs are highly collectible today. Julius Resnick’s logos included Resnick, JR, JR USA, JR Miami, JR Florida USA and others, and his styles encompassed a wide variety of shapes and materials. The photos of JR handbags in this post are just a portion of the many Resnick bags in The Vintage Purse Museum's collection, most from the 1960s-1970s. 01 Dec 1950, Fri The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee) Newspapers.com JR cut velvet (chenille) mod handbag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. Julius Resnick (1889-1980) was born in Ostryna, Russia (Belarus) to Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Resnick and Chaya ...