The Coolest of Vintage Purses!  The Best of the Retro Craze! The Enid Collins Purse! Miss Roessler was born on September 1st, 1918 and she led me to an addiction in 2002 and I think I am not alone.  She, no doubt, accomplished many things in her lifetime but, in my mind, her ultimate artistic accomplished was what she will best be remembered for, by collectors world wide.  She made eyes sparkle and hearts skip beats, whenever a girl's eyes spotted those dazzling funky fun little purses for the first time.   An, "Ooooo" was sure to follow, as hands reached out to caress their first one.

Offering an pre 1968 original  Enid Collins Mille Fleur Box purse.  This purse has the little ec with the copyright.  Purse is in extremely fine condition.  There is mark on the right side of the purse, which you can see in the photo.  I will list anything I can find wrong with the purse by each photo.  I did clean this purse.  Asking 95.00 which includes shipping.

A little history of the Enid Collins Purse Miss Roessler created memories.  She helped take us from our giggly female adolescence to adult prim and proper ladylike sophistication.  You knew you were all grown up when your mother let you spend money on an Enid Collins purse.  Your first real pocketbook.  Your head was held just a little higher, walking out the department store's revolving door, with a Collins purse hanging off your white gloved hand.  Floating down the street with a Jackie Kennedy grace, so fine, so prim, so proper.  A book wouldn't fall off your head. Enid Roessler Collins.  Famous then and now, for the Enid Collins of Texas Purses. The purse life is made of.  Those cute, kitschy, sequined sprinkled, jeweled covered purses of the 1960's.  Purses which demanded attention is high fashion stores nation wide. Many of us have known and loved her purses, but few of us know very little about Mrs. Collins. herself. Miss Roessler spent her youth in San Antonio, Texas.  No doubt drawing on the local color and scenery for her unique American folk art..  She attended Texas Women's University in the 1940's, where she majored in fashion design.  She met and married a up and coming sculptor, Frederic Collins and they promptly moved to a ranch outside of Medina.

Enid Collins Pink Copy Cats purse.  Small ec, ond of the purses created when she owned the company.

Enid Collins Owl + Pussy Cat purse.  Small ec.  Early wooden box purse

"Kit" A purse made by the Tandy Company, notice no date and running horse logo on front.

Enid Collins did just what she loved, combining art and fashion, and in doing so she created one of the most recognizable purses of the retro crazes.  Her purses exploded on the scene in the glory days of what we now call the "vintage era", the retro craze.  Her two main purses were the wooded mahogany box bag and the canvas bucket bag.  The bucket bag had a wooden bottom, leather trim, and made from linen.  The backgrounds were often matte-screened or painted by hand. Her whimsical designs were reminiscent of the Texas landscape and surrounding abundant critter life.  The purses were covered with roadrunners, lady bugs, peacocks (raised on nearby farms), horses and the like.  You would find her box bags and purses disputing colorful saying of the late 1950's....I can still hear my mother preaching, "Money doesn't grow on trees." only to find money did grow on trees if you owned an Enid Collins! Husband and wife started out small on their Medina ranch in 1959.  Her first purses sold for 100.00 or more and were made of fine leather or Belgian linen.  Enid and Frederic soon found a way to bring cost down.  Enid cleverly developed a simple box bag made of wood. The dimensions were 11" by 5 1/2" and cost 10.00 each in 1963.  Her husband fashioned the hinges and latches.    They started out simply enough with hand paintings and personal art work, but soon a factory developed turning out thousands of purses.  From 1966 to 1968 they created paper mache purses at a factory in Puerto Ricco.  This factory produced the most coveted purses of all. By 1968, her whimsical purses were in such hot demand that a factory sprung up, turning out purses by the thousands.  Remember this - all her original purses were signed and dated.  The best purse to have is a pre 1968 purse, in mint condition, signed with the small "ec", the copyright "c", and the date, because these are the times when Mrs. Collins owned the company.   Later purses are signed differently.  The Tandy Company used the running horse with Collin of Texas logo or a capital "C", which purchased Enid's company in 1970.  Although Tandy purses are just as "glittery" as a Collins purse, they are not as desirable in todays vintage market.

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If you are looking to purchase an Enid Collins purse, pay attention to the signature.  How a purse is signed is very important.  The earlier the bag, the better to most collectors.  A bag that has a date is an earlier bag, this bag usually is signed - Enid Collins.  These bags have their "theme" names written right on the bag.  Like "Money Tree" or "Glitter Bugs" are two good examples of earlier bags. Quickly with help from the local ranchers wives, a little silk screening, and imported crystal cut gemstones  from Czechoslovakia and seed pearls, the world became a happier place when ladies paraded Enid Collins purses and handbags to local grocery stores, department stores, churches, on picnics, and other places.. Mrs. Collins adorned her purses with brightly colored Czechoslovakian crystal stones in a variety of arranged decorations.  Zodiac signs, whimsical owls, purring kittens, fast paced carriages, partridges in pear trees, under the seascapes, and other delightful fare. Fine leather trim, paint, sparkling sequins, colorful rhinestones, mirrors, brass hinges, hand signed little one of a kind pieces of art work. Another cool thing this clever Collins couple came up with were the do-it-yourself kits.  They were called the Sophistikits, which I have seen sold on eBay with some regularity.  Guess you just have to know where to look.  The kits are cute and the do-it-yourself angle is neat, but to an Enid Collins collector, they are not authentic enough.  Still, if you want the feel of her bags without the price, bid on a kit, I see they usually range from 10.00 to 20.00 Another cute addition to these well made Collins authentic purses was the little tag which looked handwritten and often said, "Please!  Don't drop me on a hard surface, or handle me carelessly!  I'm made of mahogany, hand-painted and decorated for your pleasure.  With a minimum of T.L.C. you'll find me a lasting joy to carry. Love, Your Box Bag *tender, loving care." How cute is that? If you are female, you have to simply love the Enid Collins purses.  You have no other choice.  They command a hefty price on Ebay, if you are lucky enough to get one, hang on for dear life.  The paper mache purses command the highest prices, followed by her earlier works. As time wore on, the Collins sold their company to the Tandy Leather Company another era had passed us by.  The Tandy Leather Company signed the purses in a different fashion and soon stopped making them at all.

Email from reader: Hi, I enjoyed reading about Enid Collins and viewing bags on retrovintagecollectibles.com. It seems that we both share an appreciation for what she has contributed to the world of design. Perhaps you would like to know about a site I am launching called enidcollection.com. My hope is that it will become the primary place to share photos and stories of ec bags. Thanks for your time. Christian Collins

Left and right front of purse.  Two photos are so you can get a closer look.  I was able to clean the mark over the ec off.  It is gone.  SOLD

The bottom is in good condition, there is a natural wood ring  mark, as you can see from the photo.  Purse was made with this in it.

A little gold has been rubbed off from use on the latch, but it is tight and holds well.

The handle is nice and creamy white.

This photo is before I cleaned the mirror.  Perfect mirror condition. You can see the purse is 8 1/2 inches long.  The mark above the ec is gone, it was easy to clean off. The right side has a couple mark on it, as you can see, it is small. The left side is fine. The back has some problem with the varnish.  Just sand and revarnish, if you like.  Actually, you can barely see it and I will carry it with this.  This is just a result of age.

You can see the purse is 4 1/2 inches high.

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