Antique Whiting and Davis Mesh Bag Metal Clutch Purse Original Silk Lining and Chain hot Collectable Art Deco 1920's

Whiting and Davis Company is famed for their metal mesh bags and this one does not disappoint! Charles Whiting made the first mesh bag for the new Whiting & Davis Company in 1892. The bags that followed over the next two decades were made completely by hand. In fact, many were made by local women in “sewing circle” fashion who worked linking about 1,000 rings a day. This piece-work method of manufacturing proved to be a slow and laborious process, and one that Whiting found to be unreliable.
The solution? Working with a young inventor named A.C. Pratt, Whiting developed an automated mesh machine in 1912. Mesh for handbags could then be produced at the rate of 400,000 links a day, and in varying sizes, which grew the company's production capacity significantly. From 1912 through 1925, most of the bags Whiting & Davis produced were fashioned of sterling silver or vermeil (essentially gold plating over sterling silver). These were small bags with silk linings and hand engraved frames.
This Whiting and Davis has its original silk lining with interior pocket and label (label is faded and very difficult to read but it is there). All of the mesh is intact and the hot clasp and chain intact. It has two Whiting and Davis Mesh Bags stamps, one on either side of the closure. The silk lining has a few soiled areas but no holes or rips and is intact. The overall dimensions of the bag are 6" wide x 4" tall. This mesh bag is simply a stunning example of the Whiting and Davis bags of the 1920's.