American Art Deco Sterling Silver Ladies Card and Coin Dance Purse. Silver mesh chain, interior fitted with 2 coin holders, a money clip, and a mirror. Marked "Elgin Am MFG Co., Sterling Silver, Made in USA." 

Size: 3 1/2 X 2 3/8 X 1 in. 

#3993 . 

In 1880 jeweler Solomon Eppenstein invited his brother Max, who had been working in the jewelry quarter of New York in the late 1870s, to join him in Chicago, and together they created the MC Epperstein & Co. (most commonly known as the Eppenstein Brothers Company). At first they only worked in wholesale, but in 1888 they began manufacturing watchcases with the added expertise of Thomas Duncan, an established watchmaker. The venture was named The Illinois Watchcase Company, and it was so successful that another subsidiary was set up the next year called Elgin American Manufacturing Company, often abbreviated to EAM. This company concentrated on the crafting of cases, buttons, and lockets, using the same techniques that produced the watchcases. In the spring of 1890 The Illinois Watchcase Company relocated to Elgin, Illinois, and became the Elgin Watchcase Company. However, lawyers for the Elgin National Watch Inc. that had been established there in 1866 forced them to abandon the name change, and instead they proceeded to create a line of watches with the prefix “Elgin.” This embroiled them in a new lawsuit that eventually went all the way up to the Supreme Court in 1901, setting a copyright precedent when the court ruled that Elgin, being an actual location, could not be trademarked as a word. In 1921 Max died and Solomon became the company president, with Max’s son, Louis, appointed as Vice-President. The 1920s saw the growth of the novelties and vanities side of the business, with high demand for their products. During the 1940s the company went out of business due to wartime rationing of materials. Today their goods are sought after for their impressive quality, their cutting edge designs, and the American-made materials.