Pocketbook with silver point and paper, European, circa 1790
Price: $3800, Size: 3½" x 5½"

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, pocketbooks or purses were often ornately decorated with fine needlework. Men used envelope shaped pocketbooks much like we would use a safe-deposit box today to hold currency, deeds and other valuable documents. Women rarely carried such documents, so their pocketbooks were often smaller and more delicate than those designed for men and held small sewing or writing implements, jewelry or favorite trinkets.

This stunning pocketbook reflects a technique sometimes called "needleweave." Gold metallic threads form the background for the woven architectural motifs. One side depicts a grand cathedral and the other a brick-walled farm. The interior is lined with pink silk and most significantly includes a little pad of paper and a silver point. Although rarely seen today, silver point was a pleasing method of writing and drawing that utilized a pointed rod of silver, which, when drawn across paper that was specially coated with white pigment, left a grayish mark. The pocketbook has a fine silver clasp and it remains in excellent condition.