ESSE Purse Museum and Store, nestled in the historic SoMa district of Little Rock, celebrates the evolution of women through the purses they carry, offering a unique slice of history in each case.
What started as a traveling exhibit that toured the country from 2006 to 2011 blossomed into one of two purse museums in the world.
“It's not just a purse museum,” Owner Anita Davis says. “That's the object of the story, but it is about the history of the American woman, and it's told through the purse.”
The name “esse,” derived from the Latin infinitive for “to be,” underscores the museum’s philosophy: a woman’s purse is more than just an accessory but also the essence of the woman herself.
The museum features a permanent display called “What’s Inside: A History of Women and Handbags 1900 to 1999.”
Glass cases, broken down by decade, showcase purses and accessories, like smelling salts, lipstick, keys to a station wagon or even the original Barbie.
Guests step through time, experiencing the sleek leather clutches of the 80s or the bejeweled designs of the roaring 20s.
The cases also include summaries of how the purses and their contents reflect the decade, as well as photographs of women from that period.
“You can see what she wore and how she held the purse and then the brief history at the end,” Anita says.
Anita’s personal favorite? A simple black Ingber wool purse from the 50s with a giant brass safety pin as the handle.
“It has a little whimsy, and I feel like that’s totally important,” Anita says.
Anita hopes visitors will use their imaginations as they walk through the exhibits, which provide an intimate perspective on the lives of the women who came before them.
“To try to imagine what their grandmother's life might have been like, or their aunt’s, just to give them a personal way of thinking.”
Guests can admire three dioramas titled “Nothing's More Natural Than Skin," "By Land, Sea or Air" and "A Night on the Town,” as well as a case dedicated to Black glamour and a room for four temporary exhibits a year.
The museum also includes a gift shop, which guests enter through, with designer purses, jewelry, wallets, books and candles.
An Unintentional Collection Becomes a Museum
Anita says she never intended to have a purse collection, let alone a museum.
She was raised in Murfreesboro, Ark., a town of about a thousand people, where everything was within walking distance.
At just 5 years old, Anita would trek to Crater of Diamonds State Park, where a fascination with rocks helped spark a lifelong passion for collecting antiques.
“My mother was a fashionista. I was an only child. Living in a little, tiny town, you love to go to the neighboring little cities,” Anita says. “We frequented Hot Springs, Texarkana, and then on big, big little trips, we came to Little Rock. She loved to dress, and she loved to dress me. I was more tomboyish, but I still got the feel for how fun it was to look at beautiful fabrics, touch the leathers and all that sort of thing.”
That love of design and collecting followed Anita into adulthood, as did her fondness for walkable neighborhoods.
Driven by a vision to restore the vibrancy of SoMa, she purchased the Bernice Building in 2005, which houses Boulevard Bread Co., and founded The Bernice Garden, a sculpture park and event space, in 2007.
Eventually, after joining an all-female dream group, Anita started exploring the concept of the Divine Feminine, which resonated deeply with her and the message of the museum she would later open.
In 2011, she acquired a 1946 building at 1510 South Main Street, transforming it into the cultural landmark it is today in 2013.
“I love to collect things,” Anita says. “And the art that I do is assemblage. It turns out that that’s just part of who I am.”
“It's not just a purse museum. That's the object of the story, but it is about the history of the American woman, and it's told through the purse.”
“I love to collect things. And the art that I do is assemblage. It turns out that that’s just part of who I am.”