Miser's Purse
date: label: date made
content: 1835-1845
name: label: maker
content: McLane, Abby Knight
notes: label: Description
content: The miser purse gained popularity during the 19th century and was widely used until the 1920s. One end of the crocheted purse has twisted steel bead tassels and the other has looped fringe, allowing users to differentiate which end they needed to access. The center of the purse has two rings; separating the rings gave access to the small slit that served as the purse’s opening. The small slit and difficult access gave the purse its “miser” moniker, as it discouraged reckless spending.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition
content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Bequest of Abby Knight McLane
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.033867
label: accession number
content: 63786
label: catalog number
content: 033867
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bag, miser
label: Object Type
content: Accessories Carried
label: Object Type
content: Woman
label: Object Type
content: Bag, Miser
label: Object Type
content: Bags
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silk (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 17 1/4 in x 2 1/4 in; 43.815 cm x 5.715 cm