Vintage '64 Caro-Nan shops basket-box purse with wood handle, handmade

Product Name: Vintage '64 Caro-Nan shops basket-box purse with wood handle, handmade
I bought this a long time and never used it as a handbag, and it is so shops clean I don't believe it was ever used as such. It was probably always on display like I had it because it is just so interesting and cool! Caro-Nan basket handbags were created in the '60s and '70s by two friends, Carolyn McDaniel and Nancy Steele from Jacksonville, Mississippi. They started making purses as a hobby which then grew into a business that employed local housewives. Nancy's daughter had the job of gluing the pennies to the top of the baskets that indicated what year the handbag was made. The baskets enjoyed wide popularity first in the South and soon were sold throughout the U.S. Decoupage elements were sometimes added to the lid or rim of the baskets, like this one, and a fabric lining covers the inside. An authentic Caro-Nan basket purse has the "by Caro-Nan" signature on the lid like this one. This one also says "I bought mine at Rhodes" and I am not sure where that refers to.