Chicago, Buckingham Fountain Compact

 
I will admit the Chicago reference is why I fell for this compact [that and it was going for a bargain on eBay]. As with most souvenir compacts its unmarked, that's merely the norm but it is old. The metal sift is what marks this compact out - as compacts became more and more mass produced it was cheaper to produce the plastic and mesh sifts. Yet here we have one of the early ways for a lady to get her powder - gently turn the metal disc clockwise and the metal will grate against the powder so a small enough amount will come through the holes. This powder would then be patted up onto the puff and applied like normal.

This compact is made from white enamel with a top disk opening upon the top potion to get to the powder. Within a plastic covering is a small and yet somewhat detailed colouring of the Buckingham Fountain located in Chicago's Grant Park just a short walk away from The Bean. It has a bit of a space age look which perhaps suggests a 1930s age to it and while it has some markings upon the sides it is unused and comes with a puff. Its definitely a stand alone compact and one of my favourites.

Rethinking ways to display compact collections

As any collection grows there's the issue of how to display. Previously I've had my collection on shelves, bookcases, sitting on doilies to generally just laying around whichever room. For quite some time we've had an unused cake stand, vintage, pretty, striking and well unused sadly. It's taken me some time to sudden have the brainwave of actually making use of the stand and using it as a display piece for my vintage compact collection. 

As a stand the cake stand is ideal - it offers different heights and with the increasingly width of the stand going down it's great for building up the display. Smaller compacts can be happily seen at the top, to my oversized compacts on the bottom. 

Don't you just love it when inspiration hits?!

Bourjois - an Evening in Paris

Bourjois is a make up brand is a one we all know and love - and is one with a history. It was one of the first companies to create a powder in 1863 sold in their famous "pots", later introducing make up kits, lightening products and catalogs in 1897 for cosmetics we'd all be familiar with today.  In 1928 it launched it's most popular fragrance Evening in Paris [Soir de Paris] - one which created endless associated products. During the 1930s Evening in Paris gift boxes were produced and filled with beauty essentials, from the perfume, lipsticks, rogue and the powder all carrying the infamous blue colouring of the perfume bottle. It is from this set that this vintage powder compact is part of.

The geometric lines and the strong blue and silver colouring to this compacts top suggests this compact is of a 1930s origin additionally its small size would confirm an early date. Opening up the compact reveals a mirror, tight and clean silver powder well flap with original and somewhat well used puff with the branding visible in silver writing. On the bottom of the compact we can see Bourjois marked along with Evening in Paris. Additionally I've seen similar compacts with reference to being distributed in the USA, perhaps suggesting that is compact wasn't originally sold in America. 

We found this little cutie at an antiques fair in Southfield that now seems a lifetime ago in March this was one of the few comapcts in reasonable shape that they weren't charging the earth for. Sometimes I think the prices at such events would really put people off collecting but they seem to draw in the masses either way. 

Yardley Lavender Sellers Powder and Rogue

 
Today we all may associate the brand Yardley with our grans - with smells of lavender, lily of the valley and roses. Yet Yardley is one of the world's most established toiletry and cosmetic brands. Since the 1770s Yardley became a popular manufacturer of soaps and perfumes, challenging the strong position of the French cosmetic houses by developing their own lines. With their strong grasp over the marketplace their compacts first started appearing in the 1920s, yet the popularity of the brand mean they are easy to come by today. While they are easy to find, they are often made with considerable style, detail and quality. Often they feature a tiny little motif which became the image of the firm - that of three Lavender Sellers, perhaps a mother and her two daughters. This motif became the brand, the success of both resting upon each other.

Source
1923 advertisement for Yardley's Old English lavender soap

This oblong compact opens by a red plastic clasp, which allow sounds and looks somewhat odd against the metal casing the colour makes a huge statement. Plastic claps look to be a feature of Yardley compacts of this shape - often coming in a contemporary colour to the outer metal ware. The case is marked with the Lavender Sellers motif on the top and Yardley England on the bottom, additionally the brand name is engraved between the two wells inside. 

Circa 1940s this compact has a framed mirror and original puffs, not only this but it came complete with both powder and rogue. Because these compacts were designed to be reused, the two cosmetic holders pop out rather easier with their colour details still attached to the bottom which makes interesting reading.

It is only the rogue [left] which still has Yardley visible in the powder that states it's shade number - that of "Rogue refill no. 1705". What shade this corresponds too I'm unsure but it goes on to state all the available shades as "medium, natural cherry, vivid and poppy". I would just love to see the colour of natural cherry and poppy - they sound really fun! The same accompanies the details regarding the powder - "Yardley Lavender compact powder refill - Natural English Peach, Rachel 1 and Rose Rachel, 33 Old Bond Street London".

While the company was London based they did open and work from New York often marked with an American patent number. However with the refills stating the London address this compact has me considering it's all English in its origin [then again I could be wrong]. While Yardley continues it's perfume and toiletry lines, it's cosmetic lines were discontinued nevertheless they carry on through their vintage compacts.

A Detroit compact - the Trio-ette

Drooling through reference books and searching eBay you start constructing a mental wish list of all the compacts you would dream of owning regardless of money. More often then not, these wish list items are the more noted and valued compacts within the circle of collectors. And the Trio-ette would be one of mine especially because of it's links to Detroit.

The Trio-ette has always been considered as one of the most practical and playful of powder compacts after being launched in 1945. Distributed under the Detroit based House of Plate the trio-ette was a triple based compact - one side holding powder, a branded puff and sift, the other side held rogue and a puff of its own and lastly, the handle held a matching lipstick. This multifunctional approach to women's cosmetics led the House of Plate as describing it as "the amazing new triple compact that blows make up fatigue and bag fumbling". 

Upon it's top is a raised rose design one inspired by Victorian hand held cameo mirrors with bobble edging. The trio-ette was made from Terite - an early plastic and was released in several colours - mock ebony, ivory and tortoise shell as well as in green, pink and blue sold with a gift box and refills available.

In the mid 1940s the tiro-ette sold for $5 and was later reached the UK shores after being sold through a London based mail order company by 1949. Today, references book suggest a commanding a price between $100-$250 with blue, pink and green coloured Trio-ettes selling higher price. Although they can be noted as selling around the $40 mark on Ebay.

If anyone ever comes across one, please point it in my direction!

Silver golden flowers compact by Kigu

Kigu have to be in with some of my favourite compact manufactures. They were created by a master silver and goldsmith - Gustav Kiashak who by the 1920s had a working factory in Budapest. His son emigrated to the UK in 1939 and by 1947 Kigu. Co. was founded. They came to share the British compact limelight predominately with Stratton and were later brought out by them.

Today Kigu compacts are relatively easy to come across on both sides of the Atlantic - one of the first compacts I brought for my collection myself was a petite point flowered Kigu design. Which is why it wasn't too much of a surprise finding this silver toned compact in the garage sale in Royal Oak. Normally Kigu compacts come marked with this, their infamous crowned triangular hallmark often engraved into the tap flap of the powder well;

Source

This compact however is without such a marking, however a "Made in KIGU London" is etched into the metal under the mirror alongside the branded powder puff. Predominately silver, a band of gold toned flowers hang down the centre of the compact, opening it up reveals a golden compact within. In addition to puff this compact came complete with it's stiff. 

Finding a piece of England in the US always makes me wonder about it's journey to the other side of the pond. Was it brought and sold in America or the UK? Did it make it's way over seas as a gift from an English holiday?