Whiting & Davis Mesh Bags

Whiting and Davis is the oldest handbag company in America and the only name most people know in metal mesh. The business began in Plainville, Massachusetts in 1876, took the Whiting and Davis name in 1896, and in 1912 acquired the rights to a machine that knitted mesh automatically. That machine turned a slow handcraft into a fashion industry, and the enamelled Dresden and painted armor mesh bags of the 1920s and 1930s are among the loveliest objects of the period. The company is still in business.

Dating a Whiting and Davis bag means reading three things together: the mesh, the frame and the label. Early bags have soldered or unsoldered ring mesh and frames stamped Whiting and Davis Co. Mesh Bags. Between the wars the firm added flat mesh, silk screened patterns and Art Deco frames. Mid-century and later bags carry cloth or metal tags inside, and the wording changed over the decades. Published sources do not agree on exact label dates, so we describe what we see rather than quoting a year we cannot support.

Collectors want intact mesh with no missing links, bright original enamel, working frames and chains, and the lining or tag still present. The 1970s revival pieces are increasingly sought after and wonderfully wearable. A mesh bag asks for jewelry of the same era; our Trifari collection has the brooches to go with it.