Bidspirit auction | Vintage Lucite fashion bag, made

Vintage Lucite fashion bag, made by William Hardy - Vintage fashion bag by William Hardy, New York, USA, circa mid-20th century. Made of red Lucite, designed in an elongated shape with a hinged lid, inner mirror, and featuring a link chain handle and two metal handles with a copper patina. The bag is signed on the inner side. 18×10.5×9 cm. 475 g. Minor wear, mainly patina on the metal parts. * One of the renowned manufacturers in New York was Willardy. The original Willardy company began in 1946 as a collaboration between Charles William Hardy and his son, William Hammond Hardy. A quote from an article in ”Collector's Weekly” describes how the Hardy family started using Lucite: Jewelry bo×es inspired Willardy founder, Will Hardy, who initially began incorporating Lucite elements into handbag designs for his father's company to replace materials like leather and metals, which were restricted by the U.S. government during World War II. After designing a Lucite jewelry bo×for buyers at Saks Fifth Avenue, they suggested adding a strap to turn the bo×into a handbag. This led to Hardy's entry into the world of plastic handbags, and by 1951, Willardy was producing 64 styles of Lucite bags in 14 different colors.