Tiny micro-beaded coin purse dates from the mid-Victorian period, c. 1860s. Sewn on red canvas, it has a tan muslin lining and khaki silk twill collar at the top.

The glass beads are worked in a floral pattern across the mid-section, in red, pink, blue, yellow, black and green on a grey ground. A saw-toothed edge to the bottom section of navy beads is matched by a saw-toothed navy border across the very top.

Though coin purses were also made of leather, shell, and silver (the latter, especially, towards the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th), homemade, glass or steel beaded examples like were typical of the earlier 1800s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection shows several beaded coin purses in this shape, some with drawstrings and some without.

Measuring 3” by 2.5”, this purse is in good condition, with perhaps a dozen of the navy beads missing, and losses to the muslin lining at the bottom of the purse. Priced accordingly.

Proud Member of the VFG Vintage Fashion Guild