Knitted and Netted Purses

This article features another subset of my collection of Georgian sovereign purses. These tiny coin purses came to be called “sovereign purses” after the introduction of the gold sovereign coin

Silver Link Purse, c1815

…and beaded coin purses of the same period shown on this site. This style of coin purse was often called a sovereign purse after 1817, when the gold guinea was…

Miser Purses

Figure 1 Click on images to see larger versions and to read more detail about the purses. Miser purses — also called long purses, stocking purses, or ring purses —…

Beaded Sovereign Purses

…large and bulky as pockets had once been, but these were generally considered unwieldy and awkward for evening wear. The tiny, flat coin purses — called sovereign purses in England…

Pocket Case with Silver Spangles

Pocket case, or pocket book, English c1780, 6″ x 3 ¼”. This envelope-style purse is made of ribbed blue silk decorated with silver spangles. Closed, it has a flap that…

Walking or Carriage Dress, February 1811

…with matching shoes and purse. Yet this colorist has made the pelisse green, and the shoes and purse bright pink. Was she making a fashion statement? Was she not given,…

chatelaine

…etuis holding sewing or writing implements, vinaigrettes, pens, ivory leaves for notes, seals, and tiny coin purses. They were usually held at the waist with a chain, like a watch…

Pocket Cases

…to be English. Pocket cases were also popular in Europe, and especially in America. Sources Vanda Foster, Bags and Purses, Batsford, 1982. Evelyn Haertig, Antique Combs and Purses, Gallery Graphics…

Morning Carriage Dress, January 1814

…as seen in this detail of the print. This is a miser purse, which you can read more about on this website in the Regency World article on miser purses….

Morning Walking or Carriage Dress, October 1812

Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, October 1812. “Morning Costume.” Remove the spencer and the purse (“ridicule”) and this would look like an indoor morning dress. But once you’ve grabbed the spencer,…

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