Editing Handbag (section)

== Origin ==
=== Antiquity ===
During the ancient period bags were utilised to carry various items including flint, tools, supplies, weapons and currency. Early examples of these bags have been uncovered in [[Ancient Egyptian funerary practices|Egyptian burial sites]] ({{circa}} 2686–2160 BCE) and were made of leather with two straps or handles for carrying or suspending from a stick.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-27 |title=The History Of Bags |url=https://lux-collector.com/blogs/blog/the-history-of-bags |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=LuxCollector Vintage |language=en}}</ref> The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] made use of leather, papyrus and linen purses known as ''byrsa'' to store coins, which is the etymological origin of the English word "purse". The emergence of money further inspired the creation of drawstring purses, most commonly hung from a belt or kept in clothing folds.

A handbag was discovered with the remains of [[Ötzi]], who lived between 3350 and 3105 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=From when did humans start carrying handbags? |url=https://htschool.hindustantimes.com/editorsdesk/knowledge-vine/from-when-did-humans-start-carrying-handbags |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=HT School |language=en-US}}</ref> Whilst one of the earliest discoveries of an ornate leather purse came from [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon Britain]], dated circa 625 CE, revealed from the burial site of King Roewald in the mounds of [[Sutton Hoo]] in [[Suffolk]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Practical Uses and Fashions of Handbags and Purses |url=https://dsfantiquejewelry.com/blogs/time-blog/practical-uses-and-fashions-of-handbags-and-purses |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=DSF Antique Jewelry |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Anna |title=Fashions of Handbags and Purses |url=https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/style/fashions-handbags-purses |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=LoveToKnow |language=en}}</ref> Although the leather had deteriorated, its gold ornaments were still intact. Inside the purse was forty gold coins and it was held in place by a gold belt buckle and golden hinged straps.<ref name=":1" /> These features symbolised a display of opulence, making the purse part of a lavish suite of possessions.

=== Medieval period ===
[[File:Bag Mosul Gambier Parry Courtauld Gallery.jpg|thumb|The [[Courtauld bag]], thought to be the world's oldest surviving handbag]]

The [[Courtauld bag]], tentatively believed to have been made at [[Mosul]] in the early 1300s, is thought to be the oldest surviving handbag in the world today.<!-- Brown 2014 --> It likely belonged to an [[Ilkhanate]] noblewoman.<!-- Brown 2014 --><ref name="Brown 2014">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=A handbag? Courtauld Gallery opens up identity of 700-year-old treasure |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/feb/19/handbag-courtauld-gallery-identity-treasure-fashion |access-date=8 February 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 February 2014}}</ref>

=== Modern Origin ===
[[File:Woman's muslin dress and straw bonnet c. 1830.jpg|thumb|Women's fashion from 1830, including a ''reticule'' handbag from France<ref>{{cite web |url=http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=159955;type=101 |title=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |publisher=Collectionsonline.lacma.org |access-date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024071222/http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record |archive-date=24 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

Until the late 1700s, both men and women carried bags.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Handbags and Purses {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/handbags-and-purses |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Early modern Europeans wore purses for one sole purpose: to carry coins. Purses were made of soft fabric or [[leather]] and were worn by men as often as ladies; the Scottish [[sporran]] is a survival of this custom. In the 17th century, young girls were taught embroidery as a necessary skill for marriage; this also helped them make very beautiful handbags.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://henriettashandbags.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=4|title=History of Handbags- From the 14th Century to Present Day Handbag Designers|last=Timmons|first=Henrietta|access-date=2017-05-28}}</ref>

By the late 18th century, fashions in Europe were moving towards a slender shape for these accessories, inspired by the silhouettes of Ancient Greece and Rome. Women wanted purses that would not be bulky or untidy in appearance, so [[Reticule (handbag)|''reticules'']] were designed. Reticules were made of fine fabrics like silk and velvet, carried with wrist straps. First becoming popular in France, they crossed over into Britain, where they became known as "indispensables".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hagerty|first=Barbara G. S.|title=Handbags: a peek inside a woman's most trusted accessory|year=2002|publisher=[[Running Press Book Publishers]]|isbn=0-7624-1330-1|pages=14–5}}</ref> Men, however, did not adopt the trend. They used purses and [[pocket]]s, which became popular in men's trousers.<ref name="burman83">{{cite book|editor-last1=Burman |editor-first1=Barbara |editor-first2=Carole |editor-last2=Turbin|title=Material Strategies: Dress and Gender in Historical Perspective|year=2003|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|isbn=978-1-4051-0906-2|pages=83–4}}</ref>

The modern purse, clutch, pouch, or handbag came about in England during the [[Industrial Revolution]], in part due to the increase in travel by railway. In 1841 the [[Doncaster]] industrialist and confectionery entrepreneur Samuel Parkinson (of [[butterscotch]] fame) ordered a set of traveling cases and trunks and insisted on a traveling case or bag for his wife's particulars after noticing that her purse was too small and made from a material that would not withstand the journey.

He stipulated that he wanted various handbags for his wife, varying in size for different occasions, and asked that they be made from the same leather that was being used for his cases and trunks to distinguish them from the then-familiar [[carpetbag]] and other travelers' cloth bags used by members of the popular classes. [[H.J. Cave & Sons|H. J. Cave]] (London) obliged and produced the first modern set of luxury handbags, as we would recognize them today, including a clutch and a tote (called a "ladies traveling case").

These are now on display in the [[Museum of Bags and Purses]] in Amsterdam. H. J. Cave did continue to sell and advertise the handbags, but many critics said that women did not need them and that bags of such size and heavy material would "break the backs of ladies".  H. J. Cave ceased to promote the bags after 1865, concentrating on trunks instead, although they continued to make the odd handbag for royalty, celebrities or to celebrate special occasions, the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee being the most recent. However, H.J. Cave resumed handbag production in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|first=Philippa |last=Stockley |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/philippa-stockley-yes-the-contents-mean-a-lot-but-its-the-bag-that-matters-most-8100587.html |title=Yes, the contents mean a lot, but it's the bag that matters most |newspaper=The Independent |date=2 September 2012 |access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref>