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Posted 2 years ago
Jenny2669
(18 items)
This lovely purse is made of alumesh. I have no idea what that is. It is made of off white attached beads. There is a tag inside reading "Alumesh, Whiting and Davis bags. Made in USA" The beads are covered with what may be plastic. It has a nice texture and is complete. No beads are missing. It is so Sunday church lady. I like carrying it. I don't very often. I would be devastated if I damaged it. I'd like to know something about the company who made it. I thnk it was made in New York or Florida. I'd like to hear if anyone else is enjoying one.
Mesh and Beaded PursesMesh bags are slinky—and deceptively tough—purses made out of the same sort…
Your bag was made by Whiting and Davis in Plainville, Ma. You can look up the company from the small Massachusetts town and find lots of history on the the bags. I come from the next town over, North Attleboro, and we are very familiar with these bags. I still have my grandmother's and mothers and have quite a collection that I am currently selling piece by piece, probably over 50 pieces as we could always go the the Christmas store and buy to our hearts content ant reasonable prices. They were quite the thing in their day. EVERYONE had a Whiting and Davis mesh bag. You can find a lot of info on them on the web and books. They are no longer located in Plainville as they were bought out and nothing is the same anymore. Your bag is stunning. Keep on using it as often as you can and I am sure you get many compliments on it.
Alumesh is a trade name for a fabric made from aluminum (metal) that is then painted to give the mesh the texture and finish you described. I think your purse was made in the 1940's or 1950's. I know more about the older purses than the purses of this vintage.
You can learn more about vintage mesh purses and the Whiting & Davis Company on my website http://www.pursecollector.com by reading the article I wrote in 1993 called "The Mysteries of Mesh".
I actually visited W&D in October 2011 and they are still in business making beautiful mesh products for Tiffany and other well-known designers at their factory in Massachusetts. The original company was purchased in 2010 and its heritage was revived in 2011 when they launched their new 135th anniversary line of retro-design jewelry. You can see the jewelry at: http://www.whitinganddaviscollection.com/pages/cfHome.cfm
Thank you Sherry. I will certainly check it out. I decided to carry it more often. It is fun to carry.