America’s only purse museum is also a unique Arkansas treasure. And it doubles as a history museum by chronicling women’s progress decade by decade during the 20th century. ESSE Purse Museum, in Little Rock’s lively SOMA neighborhood, is the creation of Anita Davis, who owns other properties that have helped rejuvenate South Main Street. The Murfreesboro native, who opened the museum in 2013, was “always interested in finding old things. As I kept finding old purses and feminine accessories, I didn’t know I was doing homework for a museum.”
Observing that “very few museums focus on women,” Davis describes ESSE as “using purses to tell women’s stories throughout the 20th century” — a mission that resonates in March, Women’s History Month. The name comes from “esse,” a Latin infinitive meaning “to be.” ESSE’s website asserts that “It is often the smallest details, the scribbled notes in the margins of our history, that truly encompass the female experience. As we take you on the journey of the 20th-century woman, you will feel not only nostalgia but also the sense of solidarity.” There is only one other purse museum in the world, located in South Korea. Davis says that hers is unique in using purses to convey history lessons. She observes that “Honoring women has not been all that popular.”
The museum is entered through its gift shop. Davis says, “Many people are interested in the fashion aspect, and usually the store has a purse or something else for them to buy. Tourists might want a souvenir of our odd little museum. We love to offer lighthearted items that might bring a smile or even a laugh.” Store Manager Marley Hinkel is part of the ESSE staff that includes Office Manager Ti Brown, Art Director Steven Otis and Social Media Manager Annaleah Witsell.
Handled with care
The spine of the museum’s main gallery is a procession of 10 tall rectangular showcases arranged in chronological order. Decade by decade, the cases span the 1900s. This arrangement, says Davis, “makes it easier to envision the importance of purses, and how the purse reflected what was going on in women’s lives during each 10-year period. It is an opportunity to describe fashion, culture, economics and even wars.”
As examples, she points out that “Our 1920s case shows when more women started wearing lipstick and rouge. And more women began smoking in the late ’20s and ’30s.” In the early 1900s, “There was a dearth of bank checkbooks in purses, given that most women lacked financial independence.” In the earliest three cases, “filled dance cards represented some young women’s popularity at socials. Until the 1960s, most purses held a handkerchief. What it was made of and its design told a lot about the woman who carried the purse.”
Davis says ESSE “has seen more men choosing to visit in the last few years. … Early on, while their female companion visited, they might sit in their vehicle or roam the street outside our building.” These days, “Many of our male visitors stay longer than the women. There is definitely a lot of mystique around a woman’s purse, so maybe men have always wondered what’s in that bag.”
A side gallery displays temporary exhibitions. Among the most popular have been one on Barbie doll accessories and another titled “The Secret History of Home Economics.” Scheduled to open on March 17 is “Three Sisters,” focusing on a trio of Davis’ enterprises: ESSE Purse Museum, Bernice Garden and The Authentic Self.
Heavy baggage
The museum has an interactive exhibit that serves as lagniappe to ESSE’s main mission of conveying women’s history through purses. The display offers women the chance to do a weight check — but not of themselves. In a red alcove, a scale hangs from the ceiling near a large-type invitation: “Weigh your bag.” A posting asks, “Is your bag too heavy?”
Listed are six burden-easing suggestions from a Little Rock chiropractor. They include having multiple compartments to help with weight distribution, wearing a wide strap over the shoulder opposite the purse, and keeping the purse’s weight between 5% and 10% of body weight.
Davis says, “I think of our purse scale as being like the highway checkpoints that weigh those big trucks.”