Vibrant Green Purse with Beadwork and Silhouette Couple. 1950s/60s. Maker: Martin. A rich green—cross between lime and olive—tote-style handbag with a metal closure and half-oval fabric handles. It features a fun design of a ‘50s couple—she in full skirt and ponytail, he in collared shirt and ducktail hairdo—in silhouette, flirting under an old-fashioned streetlight. It’s got glued-on multicolored seed beads framing the cloth appliqued design. Lined in black fabric, with an inner zip pocket and another non-zip pocket, it is gold-stamped with the manufacturer name “Martin.” It looks as if it’s never been used.

Often, I’ll see online sellers saying their vintage bags are “one-of-a-kind” or “unique,” even though, as a longtime collector, I’ve run across them numerous times. This one, however, is a purse I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if someone bought a plain bag and custom-appliqued it, or if it came from the manufacturer like this. Also, I’ve never heard of the manufacturer, so if you know anything about Martin, please e-mail me at info(at)wendydager(dot)com.

Now, the coolest part… it set me back five bucks. Yep, there are still deals to be had—you just have to look for ‘em!

Persian Motif Gold Lamè Faux Leather Handbag. 1960s. Maker: Unknown. Huge, shiny gold faux leather purse with gold clasp, gold feet and tapestry front. The tapestry features a design of four men and (possibly; it’s hard to tell) three women, dressed in ancient Middle Eastern or Persian garb. It’s adorned with faux gems including coral, Persian turquoise, rhinestones and gold beads. No maker tag, but I’ve seen Persian-motif bags made by Sourè and Delill.

Not surprisingly, I found this wonderfully gaudy purse in a Las Vegas antique mall. Most of the items were terribly overpriced (and many were reproductions being sold as vintage—a major peeve of mine), but this bag was a good deal. And I don’t already have one like it!