There is only one museum dedicated to purses in the United States, and it’s located in a former auto repair garage in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Anita Davis launched the ESSE Purse Museum as a traveling exhibit in 2006. “I’ve been a collector of things for a very long time,” she says. Her purse collection traveled around the United States, and “it did very well in Little Rock.” She opened the museum in 2013. (The name “ESSE” is derived from the Latin infinitive for “to be,” suggesting a woman’s “essence” or “the things that make her ‘her,'” as the museum’s website explains.)
The main exhibit, “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags 1900-1999,” is arranged by decade. The display cases show typical purses and the items women might have carried in them.
Purses Through the Decades
In the early 1900s purses were usually clutch bags. Most were smaller, and they were meant to be held in the hand. Women would have used them to carry, among other things, smelling salts and small wallets.
As women grew more independent, they carried cigarette cases too. The evening bags would have held their dance cards, showing which gentleman they had promised each dance to at a ball.
The Early 1900s
As the 1920s roared in, women earned the right to vote and, as the exhibit shows, moved away from clutch purses that kept one hand tied up. They moved to designs she could sling over an arm to carry powder and lipstick — which she now applied in public.
In the ‘30s, with the Depression and war looming, purses became larger. The idea of having one good handbag instead of multiple ones became popular. In the exhibit, one wooden beaded purse with wood framing and a shoulder strap shows how a stylish purse could match many outfits. The purses were often crammed with makeup.
During the war years of the 1940s, purses became larger and more practical as women became more self-sufficient and entered the workplace. Late in the ‘40s, the clutch bag began to come back into fashion, as the exhibit showed, inspired by Christine Dior’s “New Look.”
The Mid-Century
In the ‘50s, Elvis and I Love Lucy influenced purses. Plastics mingled with fashion, allowing new looks. One oval-shaped bag was made of clear plastic, with two small hard plastic handles and faux golden stones.
1960s purses exhibit © Kathleen Walls
Contemporary Purses at the ESSE Purse Museum
In the ‘60s, pop art and Andy Wahol’s influence found its way into purses. Happy faces and clocks were imprinted on the sides of purses. The display features one large purse shaped and painted like a Campbell’s soup can, recalling one of Warhol’s famous works. Youthful ideas dominated the purse fashion world.
During the turbulent ‘70s, as the exhibition demonstrated, pop art morphed into more abstract designs. As Vietnam became an issue, peace signs and other anti-war designs dominated. Denim and beads found their way into purse fashion.
History of Home Economics exhibit © Kathleen Walls
More exhibits: Black Fashion and Home Economics
The ESSE Purse Museum features several other exhibits, including one about Black fashion, a display of suitcases, and paintings by Anita’s daughter, Betsy Davis.
The temporary exhibit at the time of my visit was “Secret History of Home Economics.” When the Home Economics Department of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia stopped running the exhibit, they offered it to Anita Davis, who saw it as a wonderful addition to the purse museum.
It uncovers the history, social impact, and legacy of domestic science, based on Danielle Dreilinger’s book The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live.
One educator featured in the exhibit is Margaret Murray Washington, the third wife of Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington, who pioneered teaching home economics as a means of “educating moral leaders who would lift up their communities.”
A Neighborhood Turnaround
When Anita Davis opened the purse museum, she chose a circa-1946 garage in the SoMa (South on Main) district of Little Rock. and painted it a simple black and white with red accents. In 2013 SoMa was underdeveloped, but now, in part through her efforts, it’s a thriving area filled with shops, galleries, and more.
This turnaround came about because Davis bought up buildings and property in the area. Nearby Bernice Gardens hosts a farmer’s market and the annual Arkansas Cornbread Festival each fall.
Visit The Root Cafe
We visited neighboring The Root Cafe, a small farm-to-table restaurant. Co-owner Jack Sundell and his wife, Corri, opened The Root in 2011 with the idea of sourcing almost all their food locally. The concept has worked well enough that Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and THV Channel 11’s Eat it Up featured them. Jack credits Anita Davis with helping turn the neighborhood around. Today, many family-owned businesses are thriving.
He shared some samples with us. I loved the pimento cheese dip made with yellow cheddar and pepper jack cheese, cream cheese, garlic mayonnaise, chopped roasted red pepper, a touch of sriracha, and a few other seasonings. The chicken salad topped with a homemade pickle was tasty.
“We get local cucumbers in spring and fall,” Jack said. “When we have them available, we make gallons and gallons of these pickles so we have them available throughout the year. We do the same with our sauerkraut.”
When Fieri ate the sauerkraut and made-in-house bratwurst, Jack said, those items became more popular.
Other Little Rock Attractions
SoMa is just a short distance from many other attractions in Little Rock.
- Central High School — the scene where the Little Rock Nine became the first Black students to integrate a White school in 1957 — is a few blocks over on Park Street. Now it’s the only high school in the U.S. that’s also a national park.
- Mosaic Templars Cultural Center tells the history of African Americans in Arkansas.
- Clinton Presidential Library showcases articles, papers, and other material about President Clinton as well as a full-scale Oval Office.
If you enjoy museums, check out these other interesting attractions:
- This Toronto Museum Is Fun For The Whole Family
- Blackhawk Museum: A Hidden Gem In Danville, California
The Little Rock Visitors Center hosted the author.
Kathleen Walls publishes American Roads and Global Highways.
