Briefcase Purse with Real Working Phone. 1970s. Maker unknown, but likely Dallas Handbags. Black faux alligator bag with pushbuttons, giant grommets to resemble an old-fashioned phone dial, black plastic handset and a wire inside to connect it to a phone jack. The handset fits inside the handle on top and there’s a detachable strap (not pictured).

The most desirable of these handbags are the red ones, but I was lucky enough to score this black one for a fairly reasonable price.

Completely unrelated side story: My husband, a telecommunications contractor, owned one of the first cellular phones in the mid-1980s. It was huge and heavy and came in a hard-sided briefcase. We had a friend in the mobile phone business, so he sold it to us "wholesale." I cried when I wrote out the check for $1,350. I'll never forget the amount—it was more than our mortgage payment!