Museum object · Clothing - Fashion and Historical
Long black leather handbag with gold clasp
mid 20th century
Smithsonian NMAAHC collection
Source catalog description
This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.
A long black leather handbag with a gold clasp. The black leather purse has an overall trapezoid shape and a self-fabric across the front with a curved top edge. The leather body of the purse is tucked into a metal frame that has a thin layer of black leather adhered to it. Attached to the frame with gold metal D-rings is a 13” long self- fabric strap and at the bottom of the purse are four metal brass feet. There’s a layer of cardboard in between the outer leather and the interior two panels of blush colored vinyl. At the interior front is an 8.5” wide open pocket with the label [BERNE / {illegible}] stamped in gold text. At the back is 8.5” wide zip pocket with the metal Serval zipper sewn to a length of cotton twill.
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Sources & collection details
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗
Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
Catalog reference: 2007.3.1031
