Location 1942:

Riviera Hand Bag Co.
Moved from 167 Madison Ave.
to 315 Fifth Avenue

Location May 1955:

Riviera Bag Inc.
385 Fifth Ave.
New York 16, NY
LExington 2-2486

Also Chicago, Dallas & Los Angeles

June 1942 Luggage & Leather Goods, page 57

Riviera Hand Bag Co. Moves

"Formerly at 167 Madison Ave., the Riviera Hand Bag Co. has moved to new and larger quarters at 315 Fifth Avenue.
According to M. Ball, owner of the firm, many of the new fall numbers in daytime handbags will be built on "Victory" lines, without frames, zippers or any vital materials.
A group of fall evening bags is now ready. They are shown in gold, silver and flexible mirror styles. A new type of mirror treatment is being used in place of rhinestones."

The 1950s

Riviera stresses price in this half page ad from the May 1955 issue of Handbags & Accessories. Of course, the diffence in quality is obvious. These are molded acetate and while they have great vintage charm, they are not as substantial as lucite.

This example adds a compact to the top of the bag. Of course, this is a rare feature in lucite or acetate, so these bags are more desirable. Tortoise in an unusual color for this bag. White is found more often. This bag sold at auction online for $255 in 2005. The bag m,easures 7 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8" and was in excellent condition. As is not unusual, the bag was sold as lucite, probably by a seller who knew no better to a buyer that didn't know the difference. A lucite bag with compact would be worth 3 or 4 times this much.

Categories: Makers