Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

April 1, 2013

Antique Beaded Purses

I bought my first antique beaded bag, right after Christmas of 1994.  I saw it as part of a holiday window display at an antique store in San Anselmo, CA on Christmas Eve, and I had to have it.  I couldn't wait till the store reopened a few days later!  Here are some pics of my modest collection (not all of them).


I got this one at an antique store in Sebastopol, CA in December, 1998.  I used to try and buy one around the holidays, each year, if I could afford it. 

I found this one in Fort Bragg, CA in the mid to late 90s; not sure which trip it was.

From the Palmer Wirf Antique Show in Puyallup, 2008.

Another one from San Anselmo, CA, purchased in 1996.

Victoria, BC, Summer 2005.  The store proprietor put a Canadian quarter in it for good luck.

From Chemainus, BC, Summer 2007

This one is very heavy as the tiny beads are made from cut steel.  It's bottom ribbon is broken and this must be handled with great care.  This was a gift from a friend of my mom's.  She gave me 2 other purses as well.

I used to have them on display, but moved most of them to an acid-free storage box because the dust, damp and pet dander was making them begin to deteriorate.  Someday I hope to have a glass case into which I can place them for display.  




36 comments:

  1. Those are gorgeous! I first saw beaded purses and other beaded times in one of the museums in Russia, Moscow. They belonged to the middle of the 19th century and some were even older!
    Your collection is so nice, you shall preserve it of course, as other can see :)

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  2. Those are absolutely gorgeous! I have one beaded bag that I inherited from my Grandma Vivian. Perhaps I should store it more carefully...

    Tina @ Life is Good
    Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
    @TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

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  3. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Beautiful, they should be on display in the 'Jojo Living Museum' ;0)

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  4. Wow. Gorgeous, Jo, just gorgeous! Happy A to Z!

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  5. Those are beautiful! What a great "A" post! :)

    Jaimie
    Living in the Light
    A to Z Amassador

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  6. Gorgeous purses, JoJo. I have a couple of beaded purses (one is from the 1920s or 30s).

    Your collection is very nice, and I'm glad to see some from BC. I keep mine under cover as well. Just visiting some of my friends who are doing the A to Z. (I'm sitting this one out) Great start!

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  7. Credit to you for keeping them in uch god order. If they were mine, they would just be piles of unthreaded beads by now!

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  8. Those are so cool JoJo!

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  9. These are gorgeous,I couldn't even pick which I like the best,you have to display them.

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  10. Anonymous1:12 PM

    Those are gorgeous! I have one, but unfortunately I actually used it and it got banged around when I ended up in the hospital unexpectedly for a few days. I still have it, but it's packed away.

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  11. Beautiful!! You have a lovely collection.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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  12. Lovely! Great post :) Nice collection!

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  13. Thank you everyone and welcome to new readers by way of A-Z! I have more bags than just shown here, but they are all stored carefully due to dust. :( Someday I'd like to have an enclosed display case for them.

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  14. Those are all so so pretty! Some of them have such gorgeous handles!

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  15. Beautiful! I hope you find a nice case to display them in - they are too lovely to be hidden away!

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  16. They are stunning!

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  17. Wow JoJo - color me jealous! I love these beaded purses! Have you ever seen the book "More Beautiful Purses"? You would love all the gorgeous beaded purses in there. I'll show it to you when we find some time to meet up! :)

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  18. Gorgeous bags--can you imagine beading those? I'm a basic beader and look forward to seeing your blogs about beading in particular. Good luck with the Challenge!

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  19. Wow! Those are pretty incredible. You must have an outstanding collection.

    Thanks for all the A to Z work you've been doing!

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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  20. How wonderful!! I love them all. I will be visiting Yakima this summer. It is such beautiful country. Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  21. Wow. What a collection! I won't be able to handle a collection like that. All I can collect right now are stamps and postcards. LOL Awesome post!

    Sonnia J. Kemmer

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  22. Beautiful bags! I like #2 best! Not many people know where Puyallup is...my sister lives there (and I went to college at nearby PLU).

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  23. I'm so overwhelmed and appreciative of all your great comments!

    Amy, no I've never see it but I do have a book called Beaded Bags. I want them all.

    Arlee thank you! I'm glad to help out!

    Rita, never got over to Eastern WA much at all.

    Sonnia I'm running out of room...lol

    Marie, when you mentioned PLU I said out loud, "Pacific Lutheran?!" that's when I saw you were in OR.

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  24. These are just so beautiful. I can see why you couldn't leave without them.

    Jessica @ Visions of Other Worlds
    Twitter: @jmarcarelli, #atozchallenge

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  25. Beautiful purses! They look wonderful!

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  26. Thanks for visiting me, just returning the compliment. The purses are beautiful. What a fantastic subject.
    Also the clouds. I've a friend who's a cloud watcher, I shall tell her to take a look at your picture.
    Good luck with the A-Z.

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  27. Thanks everyone!! :D

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  28. Those are beautiful, JoJo! You can tell a lot of work went into those purses.

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  29. Wow, what an amazing collection!
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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  30. Just beautiful, JoJo.
    I love all the metal clasps. I use to look at antique shops just to find those.

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  31. wow, they really are gorgeous. Have fun doing the A-Z challenge!!

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  32. Anonymous9:12 AM

    Beautiful collection! Popping in from AtoZ to say Hi :)

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  33. Wow,Those are Lovely!

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  34. What pretty purses.

    I have a beaded purse that belonged to my grandmother so I guess it would kind of be considered a pre-antique. :-) It is a reversible purse with clear beads on one side and white beads on the other. It is not in any way as fancy as the ones you have here though.

    Stefani @ Dreams of Nyssa

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  35. The Canadian quarter story's adorable. My fave was the one at the end, really liked the colors.

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