$318.75
In stock
North America, United States, ca. 1940s to 1950s CE. A pair of alligator skin bags – a hornback hand bag / purse and a separate alligator foot coin pouch. The purse has a brass slide clasp and frame construction, the inside is lined with a soft yellow leather and has 2 pockets. The foot coin pouch has a button snap flap and a short strap for attachment to a belt. Size of large purse: 12″ L x 5.5″ W (30.5 cm x 14 cm)
Alligator leather was widely used in the South during the American Civil War by soldiers out of necessity. The striking texture, color, softness, and the allure of exotic reptilian scales made it popular as a fashion item in the later Victorian era. Production of alligator goods increased dramatically in the late 1800s and 1900s with the opening of large, commercial tanneries. Alligator purses were an iconic fashion staple in the 1940s and 1950s, but unsurprisingly the alligator population plummeted dramatically with unregulated overhunting, and by the 1960s the American gator was classified as endangered – putting end to most leather production until the population recovered in the 1980s.
Condition: Wear to the leather and toe nails on the foot bag, overall good vintage condition. Hornback bag has wear to the skin along clasp / side creases and handle, but overall great used condition! Clasp is a little stiff, but functions.
Provenance: private Livermore, Colorado, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
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