Customer Reviews

Vintage Vanity Bags and Purses: An Identification & Value Guide

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I have a large collection of vintage handbags which a local museum wanted to display, so I needed to establish values. This book was of no help as it is mostly vanity bags. I ordered this book because the other books listed for sale were too old to have current prices. I am still seeking a CURRENT book with prices to value my 100+ purses! Do not buy this book unless you want to learn more about vanity bags, as there is next to nothing about vintage (beaded or mesh) purses in this book!

I was disappointed, but it was my own fault. If I had seen the book before buying, I would have realized there was almost NOTHING about vintage purses, whuch is what I am interested in. However, there are more pictures of Vanity purses than I ever IMAGINED existed! The book is literally bursting with pictures of EVERY type of vanity bag imaginable. I found very little text except to describe the pictures, but if you collect vanity bags, you're certain to find a picture in this book similar to something in your collection. Unfortunetaly this wasn't much help for me.

I feel that Ms. Gerson's book is truly ground breaking. Having written "Vintage Purses at Their Best" and "Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories" I can identify with how difficult it is to list, photograph and place values on items that are rare and unique--especially when there has not been much written on the subject previously.
Ms. Gerson was one of the first to do this.
In all fairness to her, I believe the title of her book "Vanity Bags and Purses" implied "Vanity Bags and (Vanity) Purses"--therefore creating some unintentional misunderstandings.
I would recommend any of her books to collectors and dealers alike.

Photographed well, great detail, identification on bags and purses wonderful. A must buy for dealers.