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Within the collection of high-end handbags, the Chanel ‘chocolate’ handbag is of note. Designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld c.2004, the quilted silk bag features a black and white print based on a sketch of the fashion house founder Coco Chanel by Lagerfeld himself. The limited edition bag has an unusual design feature in that the silk bow also functions as a fully removeable scarf.

However, more unusual in this collection is the incredible amount of 1950s lucite handbags. The lucite handbag has an interesting history, as they emerged in a post-WWII America utilising the technological advancements in plastic made by the chemical manufacturers DuPont corporation in the late 1930s. The possibilities afforded by this new material meant that handbags suddenly could be made in shapes only imaginable 10 years prior—and the bags on offer in the upcoming sale show the incredible range of quirky shapes and colours that were made possible. Within the collection all of the big names of the 1950s American lucite handbag world can be found, including Dorset-Rex, Tyrolean, Charles S. Kahn, Myles, Rialto, Wilardy and Llewellyn to name a few.

Following on from the lucite handbags of the 1950s, the collection also contains over 25 bags by American designer Judith Lieber Couture. In many ways, these handbags, mainly spanning 1990-2010s, can be seen as a spiritual successor to the lucite handbag, as many of them come in unusual shapes or unconventional materials- the mirrored cube shaped box bag and red rhinestone studded heart purse being good examples of this.

Being able to offer such a comprehensive collection of vintage early plastic as well as contemporary designer handbags is an exciting opportunity that doesn’t arrive very often in the auction world.