History of Stratton

The story of Stratton powder compacts actually begins with knitting needles….

(credit to http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im193412GHK-Stratnoid.jpg#filelinks)

In 1868 the company was founded and began the manufacture of Stratnoid knitting products. In the early 1920’s Stratton began importing components from America and began marketing powder compacts, known as Stratnoids. Personally, I enjoy collecting the older compacts and Stratnoids are still relatively obtainable if you look in the right places although I’m yet to add one to my collection.  In the early 1930’s they began manufacturing their own components and the branding became became better known as Stratton.  

Stratton were affiliated with other companies through mergers and changed hands several times. Other parts of the business became known for the manufacture of radio transmitters which became more popular and advanced through the decades as new technology became available.

It's fascinating to learn that the company made huge contributions to the armed forces during war times, manufacturing thousands of transmitters and receivers for the forces. The company also sold other beauty products such as the ‘Reduca chin-strap helmet’, designed to reduce the look of your double chin without creams! However, I’m here to tell you about the fancy metal section of the business.

Stratton compacts became very fashionable and by the mid 1930’s Stratton were the biggest UK producer of powder compacts, owning  half of the  market share. The earlier Strattons were marketed as non-spill compacts, featuring a well in the centre of the compact to hold the powder.

Unfortunately during the WWII bombings; Stratton lost four out of five of their factories halting production but according to Graces’ Guide some machines in the remaining factory were modified to help war efforts. The machines that made Stratton’s charming lipstick holders were modified to produce shell cases.

In 1946  Stratton resumed production and their beautiful fancy metal works became as popular as ever.

More notable Stratton dates:

1948 - Stratton patented their self opening inner lid, a very popular feature of Stratton compacts enabling ladies to get to the powder without chipping a nail.

1956 - Stratton patented the frame style lid of their convertible compacts, allowing the compact to be used for either solid or loose powder.

I enjoy looking at the vintage advertisements for Stratton compacts as I believe they give an insight into the social history of the time:

Stratton advert 1959:

(credit to Vanroe’s fascinating blog https://powdercompacts.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/strattons-vintage-powder-compact-advertisements/)

Stratton advert for Reader's Digest 1970:

(credit to Vanroe’s fascinating blog https://powdercompacts.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/strattons-vintage-powder-compact-advertisements/ )

Arguably, the most popular or most available vintage compacts are their Princess, Queen convertible, and standard convertible compacts as they each remained in production for around 40 years, from the 1950’s to 1997. It can be difficult to date these however you can get an idea by looking at the design on the lid of the compact and the design of the base.

There is no definitive way of dating a compact that I have found (so far) but there are ways to get a rough idea of how old your Stratton is and i'll be posting about this soon, however I've found this YouTube video which also offers some good tips :

Stratton also acquired other big brands such as Kigu and Mascot and continued to manufacture beauty products until 1997.

The company changed names and is now back in production, importing components and selling as Stratton of Mayfair.