Wild, wacky purses on display at Lake County Discovery Museum

December 26, 2007|By Lisa Black, Tribune staff reporter

If a woman's handbag is a reflection of her soul, there are a few females with some explaining to do.

Lavender-colored ostrich feathers, cigarette packages and bottle caps were used to design some of the purses on display at the Lake County Discovery Museum in an exhibit called the "Pocketbook Anthropology: A Treasury of Handbags."

From the conservative to the whimsical, the purses represent a historical era, an artistic creation or a sentimental bond, such as a handbag made out of neckties owned by Dorothy Crawford.

"It reminds me of my husband and how he dressed. He was meticulous," said Crawford, 72, of Hawthorn Woods. After her husband, Glenn, died at age 60 in 1992, she kept his many ties for years before her daughter began sewing them together to make purses for family members.

"It's really more than just a purse; it's a bunch of memories," said Crawford, whose handbag of ties in various shades of blue, reminds her of her husband's eyes.

It is among about 75 handbags on display through Jan. 20 at the museum, 27277 N. Forest Preserve Rd., off Illinois Highway 176 near Fairfield Road in Wauconda. Most come from a traveling exhibit, while others come from the museum's own collections, said Christine Pyle, historical resources manager.

"Many in the traveling exhibits are artist made," she said. "They're one-of-a-kind."

For instance, the Golden Pagoda Takeout Bag made in 2003 is a plastic replica of a Chinese restaurant's to-go box, complete with a metal handle.

Other handbags were made from materials as unusual as duct tape, reindeer moss, a license plate and wicker.

A 1940s purse made from alligator skin includes the reptile's claws, which creep down over the sides of the handbag.

A Western-style purse owned by Nancy Cartwright, the voice of the TV cartoon character Bart Simpson, represents the fun she has with her last name. While in 7th grade, her friends called her "Hoss" because the Cartwright name was featured in TV's "Bonanza" series, the exhibit stated.

"We also from our collection have some older purses on display, and they're just beautiful," Pyle said.

Those handbags reflect styles from throughout the 1900s, which drew on more common materials, such as crochet, tapestry and beads.

A brown leather purse accompanies a Women's Army Corps uniform from the 1940s. A sign near the display explains that, during World War II, many people were opposed to women joining the military.

"Some of that tension was alleviated by designing a uniform that was both feminine and practical," the display states.

To each, apparently, her own.

"I still am from the era when your purse matches," Crawford said. "Purses are very functional to me."

Including the tie purse in that category, she added: "I like it because of what it represents. It's just a small piece of remembering someone."