Who invented the first purse?

No one knows for sure who invented the first purse. Early examples of small bags used to hold money and personal belongings date back more than 5,000 years. Egyptian hieroglyphics even depict gods carrying bags. The modern-day purse can be traced back to 1841, when Samuel Parkinson, an entrepreneur, commissioned a leather worker to produce a set of small traveling bags for him and his wife. Over the decades that followed, large hand-carried bags became increasingly popular. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel invented what some experts suggest is the first shoulder bag when she added an adjustable chain strap to a bag during the late 1920s (it was reintroduced in February, 1955, and was appropriately named the Chanel 2.55). On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of handbags.