Monday, March 5, 2012

Miser's Purses



Miser's purses are known by many names.  Misers, ring or string purses, and finger purses, are just a few of the names they were given.  They originated in the late eighteenth century and were popular into the early 1900's.
 
These purses were used by both men and women and usually were long, almost stocking looking.  One end of the purse was usually rounded, while the other was squared.  "The Ingenious Miser's Purse", in Piecework, Nov/Dec 1996, says this about it's design:
 
 "Narrow in the middle and closed at both ends, miser's purses ranged in the course of their history from 4 to 36 inches long.  During the Victorian era, many miser's purses were from 8 to 10 inches long.  The "toes" of the purse, might be of the same or different shapes, often are tasseled or fringed.
 
 A short slit in the narrow midsection of fabric let the carrier drop coins or other small objects into either end of the tube.  It could be closed off by moving two rings, or sliders, of different materials including steel, brass, silver, gold, or mother-of-pearl toward the ends, gathering the fabric snugly around the contents.
 
When miser's purses were designed with one rounded and one square end, the different shapes had a purpose:  in the frequently poor lighting the correct coins could be withdrawn by feel.  The square end with fringe might contain silver coins and a contrasting diamond, round, gathered or tasseled end, gold coins."
 
With all miser's purses, the object was to keep the contents secure.  The string, or ring miser is a wonderful example of this with its flat, pouch-like shape.  Under the flap, several strings would feed up through the flap and attach to a ring.  Some were single pouches, while others were double-sided.
 
The popularity of these bags declined in the 1920's, but today, beaded and crocheted bags are making a major comeback.  Maybe you'll see someone carrying one of these unique bags soon!

Purses, of all shapes, sizes, and designs, were the preeminent monetary storage device for men and women of the Victorian era, and the miser’s purse was perhaps the most ubiquitous in nineteenth-century culture. This small, highly decorative purse is a particularly compelling type of object because, unlike other purses, it was deeply embedded in Victorian popular culture. As seen in hundreds of contemporary sources, the crafting, giving, receiving, sale, and use of the miser’s purse reflected specific social mores, and conveyed certain meanings, to the Victorians. This information, though, has remained largely unknown to present-day scholars as, to date, very little has been written about the miser’s purse. By citing references to miser’s purses found in nineteenth-century literature and paintings, as well as non-fictional accounts of these accessories found in fancywork guides, etiquette guides, and women’s magazines, the author examines the personal, social, literary and artistic functions of the Victorian miser’s purse. Among these sources are important contemporary works, including the fictional writings of Charles Dickens, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Makepeace Thackeray; paintings by James Collinson and Ford Madox Brown; the pre-eminent American magazines Godey’s Lady’s Book, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, and Peterson’s Magazine; as well as popular etiquette and fancywork guides by Lydia Lambert and Matilda Pullan. By this approach, the miser’s purse is shown to be a separate and distinct accessory from other contemporary purses and bags, and its social and symbolic roles are explored. Not only was the miser’s purse emblematic of the Victorian era and its domestic ideologies, but it also embodied the culture’s gift-giving modes. The author explains how these social functions were adapted by Victorian writers and artists into the works they produced. Both the crafting and giving of purses functioned as important literary and artistic devices, often to teach a moral lesson, to help young women to capture the attention of male suitors, to serve as a representation of filial love, or to foreshadow marriages between literary characters.

his is a miser's purse (also known as a wallet or stocking purse) made in the early 1800s. It was a fashionable style for both men and women, and would have been based on a pattern found in popular women's magazines and knitting books.

Design
It is called a miser's purse because its long tubular shape with a slit down the centre is held tightly by sliding rings (or 'sliders') to keep the coins safe at either end. This meant that it was hard to get the coins out in a hurry - hence the name miser.

Miser's purses were usually weighted at the ends (sometimes with steel bead tassels) to hold the coins in place. In the case of this particular purse, one end has been rounded with a single trimming while the other end has squared corners and two trimmings. This meant that coins of different denominations could be kept in either end, making it easier in a dark carriage to find the correct fare to pay the driver by feeling the difference in trimmings.

Women carried miser's purses held in the middle, letting them fall elegantly over the hand or from their belts. Men carried them in their pockets.

Significance
Thousands of women made purses such as these for personal use or as gifts or novelties - sometimes donating them to fundraising causes. This purse was probably made as a gift for a gentleman because green was a popular choice for men's purses at the time.

1 comment:

  1. Hi there! Great post on miser's purses. I saw that you copied the abstract of my thesis here... "Purses, of all shapes, sizes, and designs, were the preeminent monetary storage device for men and women of the Victorian era..." Could you please cite this information? Here is the link: http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/handle/10088/11723. Thank you! Laura Camerlengo

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