During a recent trip to Little Rock, Arkansas for the Southeast Tourism Society’s Domestic Showcase event, I had the opportunity to tour the city discovering unique places around town. One of the places on our “Only in Little Rock” tour included the ESSE Purse Museum and Store in the city’s SOMA (South Main) neighborhood.

Part history museum and part art gallery with hundred of purses on display, I enjoyed exploring this small museum and found myself wanting to won all of the purses on display!

Let’s take a look at my visit and what you can expect when visiting the ESSE Purse Museum –

The Story of the ESSE Purse Museum

Known to be one of only two purse museums in the world (the other is in Amsterdam), the ESSE Purse Museum is owned by Little Rock entrepreneur, Anita Davis.

During our visit, Mrs. Davis told us that the museum is curated from her own purse collection. “This is the story of women told through purses. This exhibit tells the story from 1919 to today.”, says Davis. “Each display shows purses and what might be held in the purses during that era.”

The purse museum was a traveling exhibit from 2006 to 2011 and when it received an overwhelming welcome in Little Rock, Mrs. Davis decided to bring it back to the city permanently in 2013.

What to Expect at the ESSE Purse Museum

When you arrive at the museum, you’ll enter through the museum’s store. The store offers a variety of purses available for purchase and some fun gifts and souvenirs too. Books, bookmarks, candles, mugs and plenty of purse accessories.

Upon entering the museum, I was instantly intrigued by just not the amount of purses, but how they were paired with clothing from the purse’s time period. Plus, purses throughout the different eras were paired with items that would have been popular or found in purses during that time. For example, 80s purses had miniature hairspray containers, other purses from the 50s and 60s were paired with Barbies, gloves, matches, mint containers and more.

Just as Mrs. Davis had mentioned upon our arrival – it was truly the story of women told thru purses. The museum was an interesting look through history.

The purses on display were true works of art. I saw purses made of telephone cords, ones made of pop top tabs and there was one that even looked like a football that I wished I could have taken home with me. So many purses and no two were the same, made for a fun experience.

Things to Know About Visiting the ESSE Purse Museum

During my visit, I took some notes on things to know about visiting the museum. Here are some helpful tips —

** Owner Anita Davis’ daughter, artist Betsy Davis is in charge of most of the artwork at the museum. Each piece of her artwork features a purse from the museum’s display.

** The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Monday.

** Admission to the ESSE Museum is $10 for adults and $8 for students. You can purchase tickets online or on-site at the museum.

** You can visit the store without accessing the museum.

Ready to Visit the ESSE Purse Museum?

If you make your way to Little Rock, Arkansas, don’t miss visiting the SOMA neighborhood and make time to visit the ESSE Purse Museum & Store. The museum is located at 1510 Main Street, Little Rock, Arkansas.

For the latest news and to do some online shopping, be sure to follow along on the ESSE Purse Museum Facebook page.

For more information on visiting Little Rock, Arkansas, go to www.LittleRock.com.

** I visited Little Rock and the ESSE Purse Museum as part of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Domestic Showcase conference. I received complimentary admission to the museum. Thoughts and opinions here are my own. **