Handbag thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Fashion, Room 40

Handbag

1890s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The term 'handbag' first referred to the hand-held luggage bags usually carried by men, but in the latter part of the nineteenth century practical and stylistic elements of the leather travelling bag, such as its metal fastenings and compartmentalised interior, ticket pockets and sturdy handle, inspired the new handbag for women, the precursor of the twentieth-century handbag. Framed handbags, made in plush with plush handles, or in sealskin in the 1860s and 1870s and in morocco in the late 1870s, followed. By the 1880s, coloured leathers were popular, in morocco and kidskin.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Machine-stitched kid leather with metal, and lined with ribbed silk
Brief description
Kid leather handbag, England, 1890s
Physical description
Glacé-grained pale green kid leather handbag with a metal hinged frame with twist fastening. Made from a single piece of leather with a gusset inserted at each end. The top is scalloped so that the frame is concealed, and a side pocket is formed either side of the centre pouch. The handles are machine-stitched to each side. Lined with ribbed green silk and has a centre pocket.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12cm
  • Width: 14.5cm
Credit line
Given by Miss M. Tame
Summary
The term 'handbag' first referred to the hand-held luggage bags usually carried by men, but in the latter part of the nineteenth century practical and stylistic elements of the leather travelling bag, such as its metal fastenings and compartmentalised interior, ticket pockets and sturdy handle, inspired the new handbag for women, the precursor of the twentieth-century handbag. Framed handbags, made in plush with plush handles, or in sealskin in the 1860s and 1870s and in morocco in the late 1870s, followed. By the 1880s, coloured leathers were popular, in morocco and kidskin.
Collection
Accession number
T.216-1983

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Record createdFebruary 28, 2003
Record URL
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