How much should a vintage Whiting & Davis mesh bag cost?

Broad bands: plain gilt or silver-tone mesh pieces commonly trade around £30-£80; enamelled Art Deco pieces with good pattern and fringe run higher, roughly £80-£250; exceptional or rare designs exceed that. Condition moves everything — a split in the mesh halves a price, a crisp frame stamp supports it.

What search terms find mesh bags on resale sites?

Search beyond the brand: 'mesh purse', 'metal mesh bag', 'chainmail bag', 'armour mesh', 'flapper purse' and misspellings like 'whiting davis' without the ampersand. Sellers who don't know what they have list by description, and those listings are where the bargains live.

What photos should I ask a seller for?

Four: the frame stamp (maker's mark), both faces of the mesh laid flat in daylight (splits and enamel loss show at angles), the clasp closed and open, and the interior. A seller who provides them is confident; hesitation on any of the four is information.

buying vintage whiting & davis

A resale field guide from spoii.world — independent editorial, no affiliations.

Vintage metal mesh is one of resale's best-kept bargains: Whiting & Davis produced in such volume across the 20th century that genuine, wearable pieces surface on eBay, Etsy and Vinted every single week. Here is how to hunt them properly — background reading in our collector's primer.

Search like a scout, not a fan

Brand-name searches find the listings priced by people who know. The bargains hide under descriptions: mesh purse, metal mesh bag, chainmail bag, flapper purse, armour mesh — and the ampersand-less misspelling whiting davis. Set saved searches for the descriptive terms; patience does the rest.

The four photos to demand

The frame stamp — most W&D frames are marked; a clear stamp anchors the attribution.
Mesh laid flat, both faces, daylight — splits and enamel loss hide in shadowed drape shots.
Clasp, open and closed — frames are the mechanical weak point.
The interior — old repairs and rough re-linking show from the back.

Price bands, honestly

Plain gilt or silver-tone mesh: commonly £30–£80. Enamelled Deco patterns with intact fringe: roughly £80–£250. Rare patterns and exceptional condition: beyond. Tarnish is not damage — it is patina, mostly revivable — but mesh splits and enamel loss are permanent; price accordingly and walk away happily.

What vintage cannot give you

Scale. Nearly all vintage mesh is evening-sized — a phone at best. If the hunt has you loving the material but needing a bag for actual days, that is the gap the modern knitted brass tote exists to fill: ours is Tonsiba (£95), mesh logic at market-bag scale, made to order.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-16