Ladies' Face Powder Compacts and Vanity Carryalls: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting
All things vintage and retro are making a come back in both current edgy fashion lines and as hot collectible genres. Afterall, what was more glamorous back "in the day", than a ladies' compact or carryall? During the Golden Age of Hollywood when women were beginning to enter the work force and venturing out for evenings to the movies or to a music club, she needed a portable and discreet way to freshen her make-up or check her lipstick or run a comb through her hair. A compact or carryall suddenly became the "must-have" accessory. It was a stylish solution that the jewelers, cosmetic houses, and watch/case companies of the day were quick to provide and offer many choices!
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| A selection of Ladies Face Powder Compacts |
Recently, while I was away traveling and Treasure Hunting, I discovered that I was drawn to vintage compacts and intrigued by the vast variety of shapes, styles and materials they were made from, and the many ingenious compartments that related carryalls and vanity cases could have.
While researching my finds, I came to realize there was a whole new language or at least a unique set of terms and descriptions, that those who loved and collected compacts use. Even imagination was not a serious boundary for manufacturers and artists who created these accessories for women during the compact's heyday during the 1930s through the 1950s.
The first modern compacts came out in the early 1920's although, there were forms of compacts in the 17th through 19th centuries that were made to be suspended from chatelaines or to hang from neck chains, for the ladies of the courts. The basic modern compact was designed to hold either loose face powder or caked solid face powder and had a puff to apply the powder, a sifter or screen for portioning loose powder, and a mirror attached inside the lid in order to see what you are doing.
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| Unused Compact Sifter & Puff |
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| Zenette England Powder Compact |
A powder compact by Zenette England, a tradename used by C.H. Collins & Sons Ltd Birmingham. The compact is unused and has its original sifter screen and puff. It dates to c1950s and survives with its gorgeous parakeet lid decor intact, made from brass, with a delicate honeycomb pattern background to showcase the birds. The inner rim of the lid is signed Zenette Made in England.
Finding a vintage unused compact is unusual. Easier to find, and more economical for the beginner collector is a well-loved compact.
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| Elgin Powder Compact |
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| Inner lid of Elgin compact |
A vintage "Contour Allure" clamshell c1950s compact by Elgin American Made in Canada. Signed on the inner lid, and in script on its original puff, no sifter, nearly full of original loose powder. Elgin American began as the Illinois Watch Co in the 1880s and manufactured cases for many of the famous cosmetic houses as early as the 1930s. Their manufacturing plant closed in 1963 in the US and moved to Japan. I could find no information on a Canadian plant or a Canadian manufacturer who may have made compact cases. A mystery that I hope to eventually unravel!
A form of compact called a carryall or minaudiere, has not only a powder compact compartment but one or more separate compartments or attachments to carry other necessary items. Often adorned with rhinestones or brocade, they usually have a chain strap for a lady to carry on her wrist in place of an evening bag and are considered a jewelry accessory.
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| Carryall or Minaudiere with Lipstick Holder on the side |
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| Demi Carryall |
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| Two inner compartments for powder and a small comb |
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| Cigarette case compartment |
The two minaudieres shown above are examples that demonstrate the different compartments, attachments and accessorial items that can be present. The small comb is original to the case and has its own faille sleeve holder, and the gold carryall or minaudiere incorporates a cigarette case compartment and an attached lipstick holder on the side. The brocade case is a demi, an earlier form of carryall that carries powder and has a separate compartment for money or cards but is too small to hold cigarettes. There are no signatures on either of these carryalls.
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| Stratton Red Enamel Compact |
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| Inner lid signature showing Stratton |
A gorgeous brilliant red enamel powder compact by Stratton of London. Signed on the inner lid with their "compact in hand" hallmark dating the compact to between 1950 to 1970. Unfortunately the gold decor has worn that was applied to the red enamel.
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| Brass compact by Volupte |
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| Inner lid signature of Volupte |
A square compact with a brass tone finish and textured surface. Inner lid shows the Volupte signature. Volupte was located in Elizabeth New Jersey and made compacts between the late 1930s to the 1950s.
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| Compact made in Japan with Niello type lid inlay |
A lovely vintage square compact signed "Made in Japan" on the inner lid edge. The exterior lid surface is black enamel, showing a little wear, with a Niello type inlay of gold and silver metals forming a pretty Oriental scene with what may be Mount Fuji in the background and is signed "K24" just under the fence pictorial. At this point, I have found one other similar example with this mark but have been unable to ascertain whether this is an artist's signature or model number.
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| Deauville Compact by Richard Hudnut |
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| Unique Doublette Compact |
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| Art Deco Triple Opening with 3 puffs |
Richard Hudnut was a cosmetics firm with headquarters in New York and Paris, famous for their DuBarry, Deauville, and Debut lines of compacts. They were making compacts as early as the 1920s. This is a silver tone triple opening, or Doublette type of compact with both a powder compartment and a solid rouge compartment. All three original puffs are present. Signed on the first inner lid, the back of the mirror, "Deauville Richard Hudnut, Patented Dec 2, 1924". There is a spot for engraving a monogram on the exterior lid which is blank.
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| Modern Lancome Compact & Matching Mirror with Limoges porcelain Victorian couple decor |
An unused set of a solid or cake powder compact and matching hand mirror with attached mesh strap for hanging by Lancome Paris, a cosmetics firm, with black felt compact sleeve, original box and inner mirror label and paper tag. Compact lid and mirror back is made from cobalt blue Limoges porcelain decorated in gold with a courting Victorian couple in two slightly different scenes. The courtship and the proposal!
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| Vintage Tapestry Compact made in USA |
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| Generous puff, screen lined inner base |
Lovely vintage tapestry powder compact, brass tone steel rim, generous thick velvet puff and inner base lined with screen. Signed Made in USA.
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| Evans Compact with USN US Navy Insignia |
This compact is likely a "Sweetheart" item bought by a serviceman from their military commissary store to send home c1940s. It has the USN Anchor insignia of the US Navy below the porcelain pink rose cabochon on the lucite enameled lid.
The puff has survived although it has separated, with the Evans script logo visible and the sifter screen. Evans was established as the D. Evans Case Co in Massachusetts in the early 1920s and manufactured compacts and minaudieres between 1922 and 1960. They were well known for their durable enamels and dominated the market in the 1940s through the 1950s. It became a division of Hilsingor Corp of Massachusetts and disappeared after 1965.
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| Stratton Coronation Lipstick Holder |
A commemorative lipstick compact for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 1953 by Stratton of London.
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| Stratton No 91 base signature |
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| Refillable lipstick tube |
Enameled lid insignia "Coronation June 2nd 1953"
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| Stratton Lipview Lipstick compact |
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| Modern Stratton of London signature |
A modern Stratton of London Lipstick compact with the trademark "Lipview".
Stratton of London was produced by Laughton & Sons Ltd Birmingham England beginning in 1923. Today they are a division of Firmin & Sons of Birmingham. Stratton absorbed the Mascot (A.S. Brown Co) and Kigu brands of England in the 1990s. Mascot had taken over the Kigu Co of England in 1977.
Other brands to be on the look out for are Kigu England, Mascot England, or Rex-Fifth Avenue USA (later Dorset-Rex Fifth Avenue).
As with most vintage collectibles, condition is everything. A beginner can start with examples in well-used/loved condition and gradually replace these with items in better condition as their collection grows. Condition becomes less important when a compact or maker is rare or scarce. Having the original puff, sifter, and a mirror in good condition is desirable. The finish or outer decor needs to be near-mint for an experienced collector, but many began with family items they cherished and end up using those pieces, keeping their minty items for display.
As with most vintage collectibles, condition is everything. A beginner can start with examples in well-used/loved condition and gradually replace these with items in better condition as their collection grows. Condition becomes less important when a compact or maker is rare or scarce. Having the original puff, sifter, and a mirror in good condition is desirable. The finish or outer decor needs to be near-mint for an experienced collector, but many began with family items they cherished and end up using those pieces, keeping their minty items for display.
I hope this brief foray into the world of compacts and compact collecting has piqued your interest! As I learn more, and/or find more treasures within this new world, I will post more!
Most items shown here are available at Mandicrafts!
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Mandy
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Great blog! Thanks for all the info!
ReplyDeleteVery timely blog Mandy. After treasure hunting with you I went to an auction and got a lot with 3 compacts in it. I'll have to look and see if any of this GREAT information relates to any of them. Keep up the great blog work! I really enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese compact with the K24 mark isn’t the artist, it stands for 24k gold which is used in the design.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea of the age/ maker of the gold/brass carryall? I have the same one with the lipstick holder and comb holder but no comb.
ReplyDelete