- Messages
- 17,220
- Location
- New York City
From MarketWatch
What the contents of this Depression-era purse might tell us about women
Published: Mar 23, 2017 7:01 a.m. ET
The recent discovery in a Chicago theater of a 1930s clutch purse is a revealing time-capsule
By
RACHELKONING BEALS
NEWS EDITOR
How much have women changed in 80 years? A lot. And in some ways not much at all.
The recent discovery in a Chicago theater of a 1930s clutch purse is a time-capsule glimpse into a night out for a Depression-era young woman. The little red bag’s contents, as reported by DNAInfo.com, were limited to a rosary, a pen, two tubes of lipstick, a still nearly full bottle of liquid foundation, Anacin (modern-day Advil) and a Kelvyn Park pin (which refers to a public park and high school in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood).
So much has not changed. No smartphone, of course. Instead, a well-used address and phone number book. Also, no money. Is it simply missing? Did the theater-patron rely on others’ cash that night?
Read: Why men still pick up the check on first dates
Eric Nordstrom of Urban Remains
Eric Nordstrom of Chicago’s Urban Remains pried open a rusted red clutch purse from the 1930s to reveal this glimpse of a woman’s night out at the theater.
Handbag inventory in 2017 includes some of the same staples as their 1930s counterparts, and yet much more, based on an informal office poll, a random sample just like the one from nearly 90 years ago. Yes, there a few bottomless Mary Poppins’ bags in the bunch.
Makeup still makes its appearance (four tubes of lipstick and two tubes of lip balm in just one purse for one colleague), cell phones, chargers, work security IDs (not many of those in 1930s), transit cards, credit cards, cash, receipts, hand sanitizer, magazines, a reusable grocery bag, keys (multiple sets in some cases), a first-aid kit, Kleenex, a coupon caddy and candy (reportedly to appease a toddler).
Interestingly, no pens. Does the phone handle any note-taking? And not a single rosary, either, but that’s a discussion beyond this simple archaeological observation.
Don’t miss: Why so many people are addicted to millennial women’s Refinery29 ‘money diaries’
The contents of women’s handbags still fascinate us. Lifestyle sites make a lot out of handbag and tote bag contents and sometimes focus on what the style of the bag itself says about its user as this Refinery 29 quiz does. “What’s in my purse” is a Pinterest board. Cosmopolitan has a quiz about what bag contents say about their owner (me, a hoarder, what?).
Tech-site Verge used to feature a “What’s in your bag?” column for men and women to reveal its staff’s gadget must-haves and more. Writer Katie Drummond had some stand-out items that would not have been found in a woman’s bag in the 1930s: “Do you want skin cancer?” she wrote. “No? Then put sunscreen in your bag. I also wear this men’s antiperspirant, because it’s called Power Rush, and I think everyone should start their day with such a feeling.” Back in 1930s, only 24% of American women were employed, according to the U.S. Census, versus 57% today.
Don’t miss: Pharrell Williams will advertise a $3,600 Chanel ‘man bag’ — why it might actually sell
As for that 1930s purse, it was recently ”excavated” inside the 1920s-era Congress Theater’s air circulation chamber (called a plenum) by urban archaeologist Eric Nordstrom, who recycles and resells historic objects, DNAInfo said. A $50 million redevelopment is now planned for the Logan Square-area former theater into commercial space, residential units and possibly hotel rooms. Nordstrom is hoping to reconnect with the purse owner’s family using names in her address book.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wh...ion-era-purse-tells-us-about-women-2017-03-23
What the contents of this Depression-era purse might tell us about women
Published: Mar 23, 2017 7:01 a.m. ET
The recent discovery in a Chicago theater of a 1930s clutch purse is a revealing time-capsule
By
RACHELKONING BEALS
NEWS EDITOR
How much have women changed in 80 years? A lot. And in some ways not much at all.
The recent discovery in a Chicago theater of a 1930s clutch purse is a time-capsule glimpse into a night out for a Depression-era young woman. The little red bag’s contents, as reported by DNAInfo.com, were limited to a rosary, a pen, two tubes of lipstick, a still nearly full bottle of liquid foundation, Anacin (modern-day Advil) and a Kelvyn Park pin (which refers to a public park and high school in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood).
So much has not changed. No smartphone, of course. Instead, a well-used address and phone number book. Also, no money. Is it simply missing? Did the theater-patron rely on others’ cash that night?
Read: Why men still pick up the check on first dates
Eric Nordstrom of Chicago’s Urban Remains pried open a rusted red clutch purse from the 1930s to reveal this glimpse of a woman’s night out at the theater.
Handbag inventory in 2017 includes some of the same staples as their 1930s counterparts, and yet much more, based on an informal office poll, a random sample just like the one from nearly 90 years ago. Yes, there a few bottomless Mary Poppins’ bags in the bunch.
Makeup still makes its appearance (four tubes of lipstick and two tubes of lip balm in just one purse for one colleague), cell phones, chargers, work security IDs (not many of those in 1930s), transit cards, credit cards, cash, receipts, hand sanitizer, magazines, a reusable grocery bag, keys (multiple sets in some cases), a first-aid kit, Kleenex, a coupon caddy and candy (reportedly to appease a toddler).
Interestingly, no pens. Does the phone handle any note-taking? And not a single rosary, either, but that’s a discussion beyond this simple archaeological observation.
Don’t miss: Why so many people are addicted to millennial women’s Refinery29 ‘money diaries’
The contents of women’s handbags still fascinate us. Lifestyle sites make a lot out of handbag and tote bag contents and sometimes focus on what the style of the bag itself says about its user as this Refinery 29 quiz does. “What’s in my purse” is a Pinterest board. Cosmopolitan has a quiz about what bag contents say about their owner (me, a hoarder, what?).
Tech-site Verge used to feature a “What’s in your bag?” column for men and women to reveal its staff’s gadget must-haves and more. Writer Katie Drummond had some stand-out items that would not have been found in a woman’s bag in the 1930s: “Do you want skin cancer?” she wrote. “No? Then put sunscreen in your bag. I also wear this men’s antiperspirant, because it’s called Power Rush, and I think everyone should start their day with such a feeling.” Back in 1930s, only 24% of American women were employed, according to the U.S. Census, versus 57% today.
Don’t miss: Pharrell Williams will advertise a $3,600 Chanel ‘man bag’ — why it might actually sell
As for that 1930s purse, it was recently ”excavated” inside the 1920s-era Congress Theater’s air circulation chamber (called a plenum) by urban archaeologist Eric Nordstrom, who recycles and resells historic objects, DNAInfo said. A $50 million redevelopment is now planned for the Logan Square-area former theater into commercial space, residential units and possibly hotel rooms. Nordstrom is hoping to reconnect with the purse owner’s family using names in her address book.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wh...ion-era-purse-tells-us-about-women-2017-03-23
