Athena 803: Green English Bridle Leather Handbag
A green case with no lining, a waxy bloom that polishes to a shine, and a brass handle carved by hand
The Athena 803 is a small round case in thick dark green English bridle leather, stitched in yellow, with a solid brass handle that was carved by hand. It carries a phone and a few things for a night out, and it does not pretend to be anything else.
Video: “Athena 803 hand carved handle green bridle leather case,” Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker on YouTube, November 14, 2019.
The name
Athena is the goddess of war, handicraft and practical reason, according to Britannica, which sets her reasoned side of war against Ares and plain bloodlust. A bag with a handcrafted handle and a hard, reasoned shape seemed to belong to her. The 803 is one of the Athena line, round cases in bridle leather, the same family as the black 806 with the finger loops.
The round case had another name first. In June 2018 I filmed a dark green round English bridle leather case with yellow stitching and called it the Oort, after the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort. As I remember it, I renamed the line Athena the next year.
A bag with no lining
Thick bridle leather keeps a round shape without help, so there is nothing to line. The inside is the leather itself, green all the way through, with the yellow stitching running along the seams.
I have said why I like unlined bags in the video for the black Athena 802, the same round shape. A lined bag is delicate when it gets wet. Water seeps in and sits between the lining and the leather, and it has nowhere to go. An unlined bag lets the leather dry out both ways. I would still not hand you a wet bag. If rain lands on it, wipe it off quickly. If it beads up, let it dry.
The haze
Look at the surface, inside and out, and you see a waxy haze. That is the wax in the leather, and a little conditioner brings it up to a dark green shine. The last piece I cut for this bag has less wax in it than the rest. I shined that one up so the difference shows.
The handle
The handle is solid brass, carved by hand in India, with a green patina. It is an animal of some sort, and I am not sure which, riveted through the top of the flap. I buy these handles through dealers, mostly from India, usually one of a kind, and I cannot count on finding the same one twice.
Latch and feet
The latch is my Marcellino latch, with a loop that curves around the body, so it closes like a belt around a drum. There are small feet on the bottom so the case sits up on a table. It comes without a strap, because it is a handbag first: set it down, open the latch, and everything is in front of you.
Sources
- Athena 803 hand carved handle green bridle leather case (Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker, YouTube, November 14, 2019)
- Oort English bridle leather case in British racing green (Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker, YouTube, June 7, 2018)
- Athena 802 bridle leather handbag case in black (Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker, YouTube, November 14, 2019)
- Signature Marcellino Hand Carved Brass Handles (Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker, YouTube, December 26, 2016)
- Athena (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
How it is made
The latch is the Original Marcellino Latch, which I developed with attorney clients as a strong, quick alternative to a buckle.
The bridle leather is described on my leather page, and the journal explains it in What English Bridle Leather Actually Is, and Why Briefcases Are Cut From It.
The seams are hand stitched; see The Saddle Stitch Explained: Hand-Sewing Leather Step by Step for the method.
