Home > Pulpwood Queen Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 23 > Entry
THE LADY WITH THE ALLIGATOR PURSE
When I was little, I always had a purse. I believe my first ones were the obligatory ones my mother purchased for me when my mother took me and my sisters to Zenisheck’s Department store or Frock and Bonnet to buy our Easter accessories; hat, gloves and purse. We then carried those little white bags every Sunday to church and for special occasions. They were very special and made us feel so grown up as our mother, grandmother, and all the women we knew carried handbags that were filled with wondrous things.
My grandmother’s handbag she carried in the crook of her arm. It was always black. Inside she had a handkerchief, a coin purse, lipstick, and these amazing little boxes of prescription pills. I loved to open and close the little boxes and look at the different colored pills. Of course, to me they looked like candy and then one day the temptation was just too great. I ate some of the little yellow ones. They were awful and bitter and my grandmother made a frantic call to Dr. Caitlin to find out what to do. Evidently, I was safe. I remember something about them being liver pills. I never ever took another pill. Mysterious, these handbags.
We even at recess jumped rope to the rhyme about a lady with an alligator purse. I always wanted an alligator purse and so now, I do.
The Lady with the Alligator Purse
Miss Lucy had a baby,
His name was Tiny Tim.
She put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub,
But it wouldn’t go down his throat.
Miss Lucy called the doctor,
Miss Lucy called the nurse.
Miss Lucy called the lady
With the alligator purse.
“Mumps,” said the doctor.
“Measles,” said the nurse.
“Hiccups,” said the lady
With the alligator purse.
Out went the doctor.
Out went the nurse.
Out went the lady
With the alligator purse.
I have been collecting handbags and purses ever since. Therefore, when I heard from an author named Barbara Hagerty and how she had written a book on the history of Handbags, I was intrigued. How Barbara heard about me is a more amazing story. I had had my friend and author, Pat Conroy’s new wife to my shop, Cassandra King. I had discovered Cassandra’s first book at the Mid-South Bookseller’s Association Convention in New Orleans, Making Waves in Zion. The story was about a young woman who inherits her aunt’s house and beauty salon in the south. The book seemed perfect for my book club, The Pulpwood Queens, and me as I have the only Hair Salon/Bookstore in the country, Beauty and the Book.
The publisher soon thereafter sent Cassandra to my shop and I wanted to give her something special. Something that would let her know just how much I love Pat Conroy and something that would be a celebration of their new life together. I gave her a purse. This purse was handmade by my friend and Pulpwood Queen, Constance Muller, artist and handbag designer. This purse was called a Floralina and they are doll purses, little fairy like dolls each wearing one of kind dresses where the dress skirt unzips in the back to hold are your special little things with a little matching cloth handle. These purses are for special occasions. My daughters and I have now collected nine of them. I gave her one to carry for special occasions.
Evidently, she carried it one day when she had lunch with her friend and author, Barbara Hagerty. Barbara just had to know where she got the purse, as she wanted to feature it in her book, Handbags: A Peek Inside A Woman’s Most Trusted Accessory. Four of Constance’s’ little Floralina were featured in the book. I had both Barbara and Constance in for a Floralina trunk show and book signing. That was years ago.
You can imagine my delight when Constance and her mother, Lois bopped into my shop to tell me that there was going to be a gallery show of the purses at the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council building in Texarkana. We traveled to Texarkana to see that exhibit this past Tuesday with my fellow bookseller, Fred McKenzie in tow. After a delightful lunch at the local eatery, The Cobbler Shop, we headed to TRAHCS. You can imagine our delight when we spied Constance’s floral festooned Floralina all in luscious shades of pinks in the glass display case. Interestingly enough, besides purses, there were vintage hats and dresses displayed on the walls. Constance took many photos to send to Barbara Hagerty of the gallery exhibit. Several of those she has sent to me for you to view below. This exhibit is traveling the country. For more information go to www.barbarahagerty.com or to www.constancemullerdesigns.com. I also got Constance to sign a limited quantity of the book Handbags to sell in my shop. To order your own signed copy, please go to my shopping page.
Reading can take you wonderful places and help you also discover beautiful things. A purse is, says Hagerty, “more than a mere utilitarian container, a purse is, I realize, an extension of the person who carries it, a miniature portrait in cloth, beads, plastic, leather or feathers.” The last two Floralina I purchased from Constance I let my daughters select for their birthdays. Helaina chose a black dressed Floralina with an Evening at the Opera theme. Madeleine chose a wedding Floralina. I am sure both will be carried on those very special occasions.
What do you keep in your purse? You would not believe what I found when I dumped the contents just now on the floor. Here is my inventory:
Billfold
Antique Mirror
Lipstick and various makeup
Paint color sample cards
Granite Crystals to add sparkle to paint
Paint Can opener
Tweezers
Infamous Video
Business cards
Phone Charger
Yesterday’s Marshall News Messenger
Discount coupon for Chico’s
Easter card from my Mother
Cell phone
Almost ten dollars in change
Black Cat Adhesive Bandages with Free Toy Inside
Sonic straw
Watch batteries
Troll doll
Travel hairpiece
Coated black rubber bands
Key chain with many keys and bling
One fancy swanky earring
Assorted pens crumbled bank and purchase receipts
Notebook with names of those who purchased tickets for Rue McClanahan event
Advanced galley for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Yorday.
Yes, that all came from my purse and it is big. Not sure what those contents tell about me but I am sure someone can tell me. Do you have a purse story? I would love to hear from you. Happy Spring and if you are in or near Texarkana, treat yourself to this special galley show. For more information on TRAHCS go to www.arts.state.tx.us/CalTCA/calendar.cfm?&AssocID=639&header=1
Tiara wearing, Book, and Purse sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
Founder of the Pulpwood Queens
P.S. And my favorite purse bedside’s Constance’s Floralina? A vintage black handbag redesigned with an Elvis theme complete with Elvis, guitars, tiaras and leopard lining made especially for me from author, Ruby Ann Boxcar significant other, Kevin, make-up artist and hair designer extraordinaire!
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