Bags: A Selection from the Museum of Bags and Purses, Amsterdam

Beautifully illustrated with 324 photos from Amsterdam's Museum of Bags and Purses, this catalog offers a unique survey of the bag in all its forms, from a lady's 19th-century satin reticule (forerunner of the modern handbag) with embroidery and Turkish knots along the border to a gentleman's Edwardian dressing case with glass, silver, and ivory nécessaires; from a Tam O'Shanter coin purse with a steel-beaded, crocheted bottom to a 19th-century cut-steel chatelaine with hanging thimble box, tape measure, pin cushion, notebook, needle case, and scissors. The book also contains a history of the bag from the late Middle Ages until today, as well as a concluding section spotlighting current designs.