lucite purse, not an antique

hi, sorry this is not an antique but didn't know where to post.. any ideas greatly appreciated

 

Reminds me of the kind of thing my mother carried in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The bright preppy colors make me think it would go well with a Lilly Pulitzer outfit

 

Perhaps you can compare to several listed on ebay. At one time they brought quite a high price.....you'll have to choose "completed" to see how they're doing now.
https://www.estatesales.net/MA/North-Andover/01845/2166267

Is just the handle lucite?

 

yes

 

I think the most desirable ones were/are entirely lucite. But, I could be wrong.

Do a completed search for comparisons.

 

That's true. If they're completely made of lucite or bakelite, the price goes way up. This one ... dunno. It might have been a kit and it's definitely homemade. You never know with one of those if the styles change.

 

Definitely haute 60s, gone by the 70s. (When sold; not necessarily when owner carried.)

Once, out of the blue, my mother sent me a little purse with handles and curved main body sides made of some kind of faux tortoiseshell, flat, thick body ends & lid of clear, colorless Lucite-type material, with a flower etched into each of those panels. No doubt sold to her as highly collectible & probably was. Put it away in a drawer & didn't have reason to take it out again for a long time.

When I finally did, the little metal studs that hinged the handles had corroded, the faux tortoise around them had turned to white powder. All of the tortoise parts were crazing & cracking. Only the flat Lucite panels survived.

 

Celluloid disease?

 

Evidently something that way, comparable to Byne's in things like sea- & egg shells that are based on calcium carbonate, corrosion due to atmospheric moisture picking up other molecules to make an acid in an unventilated space. In the case of the purse, back of a wooden drawer that is closed nearly all the time. Alas.

 

Heat will do it too. I had a purse die because I bought it at a community sale and locked it in my car for a while. The heat from the trunk either started it or accelerated it and by the time I got it home it was already smelling like vinegar. Once that happens, it's toast.

 

That horse does appear to be a Lily Pulitzer print. A bit of research would determine if others are as well.

Debora

 

Oh cool..

 

is there a certain name for this type of purse?

 

'Box purse' does a good job of finding them on Google, although some you will get are cigar box purses, another genre of the time.