How many purses in your collection wouldn’t you part with?
20-25
When did you start collecting?
In the mid-1980s.
"I bought a beaded peacock purse at a flea market that was originally priced at $100, but was marked down twice, and I purchased for $25."
Where did you buy purses?
"Flea markets, initially. eBay came along in the late 1990s and I started buying on eBay. I was living in San Francisco then and worked at the San Francisco newspaper. I regularly bid against (now) APCS members. I put advertisements in antique journals, saying I was buying antique purses. "
Kathy met Mike & Sherry Miller through one of her ads in 1994.
Romeo & Juliet purse
Purchased in 2008. Kathy was shocked when she won the purse. She put in a $1,200 bid and won the purse for $450. Kathy brought the purse to APCS Show & Tell that year, and two people tried to buy it from her.
Two Spinning Wheel purses
“In 1998 I received a phone call from a woman in response to one of my advertisements.” She said she had a purse with a ‘spinning wheel’ that she’d bought at an estate sale. It had been hanging in her closet for years. For Kathy, this was the Holy Grail of purses. The woman didn’t know how much to charge for it, so Kathy told her to take the purse to her local antique store and get an estimate. Kathy then kicked herself for not taking down the woman’s number, while she waited on pins & needles for the woman to call back – thinking the antique store would likely be the purse’s next owner. Thankfully the woman DID call back and Kathy paid $900 for her first Spinning Wheel purse, which at the time was worth $3,000.
Lindbergh purse
Purchased in early October, 2001 on eBay. Kathy, her husband Paul, and another couple went to New York on a short trip. On the way home, Kathy was praying she’d make it home in time to bid on the purse (this was before Sniping was an option). She did make it home, and figured the purse would go way higher than it did. She got the purse for $400, and thinks the low ending price was possibly due to 9/11. Many people weren’t bidding on eBay for a short time after 9/11.
(Aside: I noticed something funny about the Lindbergh purse – it’s actually misspelled on the purse as LINDBERG)
The Lindbergh purse was in part of an exhibit at the Pierce Arrow Museum from 2002 – 2012. Kathy still has the exhibit at the Pierce Arrow: Her items on display include vintage clothing, sunglasses, hats, and purses (among other things).
A woman (Carmen) answered one of Kathy’s ads, and mailed photos of her purses for sale to Kathy, who promptly bought a figural beaded purse for $400. Carmen was a former stewardess, her husband’s family had money, and Carmen would bid up to $5k for purse. Carmen was from Germany; when she visited Germany she would find & buy purses. Kathy and Carmen started corresponding and became friends. Eventually Carmen & her husband moved to NC, got divorced, and in the early 2000s Carmen sold all her purses (Kathy sold them for her).
Linda Marshall and Kathy started corresponding in 2006. That’s how Kathy ended up going to her first APCS Gathering – in Minneapolis, 2008.
Kathy has no idea how many purses she has – after seeing many purses, and her storage boxes, I would guess approximately 1400. Kathy’s husband, Paul, even steps in to help with minor repairs!
To this day Kathy has never spent more than $1,000 on a purse. She always expected purse prices to increase, but instead their value has lessened.
