My Collection (part one)

Hi folks, its been a while but I am back. I took some time out from compacts while I tried out some new craft ideas - i've made t-shirts, wood burnings, candles, and crocheted hats. Its been fun and I'll continue to have crafty weekends but I miss my compacts so thought it was timely to share a few from my collection with you.

As mentioned in my previous post Butterfly Wings I have been very lucky to obtain a few butterfly wing compacts...

A Gwenda compact picturing the ship Asturias. This ship was in service between 1925 and 1957. Asturias was a passenger ship on which people embarked on 4 - 5 week journey from Britain to Australia. For more information you can visit http://www.ssasturias.net. The image on the compact is sadly damaged but remains a fine example of a compact made with genuine butterfly wings.

Here we have another Gwenda compact featuring the HMS Somersetshire, 1927 -1954. Butterfly wing compacts are easily damaged through general wear and tear and exposure to sunlight or damp so its rare to find one in good condition. The inside of the compact however is immaculate.

Next up is from the 1935 Empire Exhibition which is in excellent condition. If you use a magnifying glass you can see the scales of the butterfly wing showing that genuine butterfly wings were used rather than a foil background.

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I'll be looking to expand my butterfly wing compact collection and will keep you posted as I learn more about them. Aside from butterfly wings, Stratton is my brand of choice and take up the majority of my collection...

I was so pleased with this addition, an original Stratnoid containing rouge:

Another exciting find was this Stratton lipstick holder. It came with the original tag still attached which I found fascinating...

My research and hunt for beautiful vintage compacts continues; I will keep you posted with any new finds and share the rest of my collection with you soon....

My first buy

This is the first vintage compact I bought…(thanks to EBay)

This is a compact made by Stratton of England and dates back to the mid 1960’s to early 1970’s. The size and inner lid design helps to identify this Stratton compact and i’m 90% certain it's one of the more popular convertibles, designed to take solid as well as loose powder. Although the measurements are very slightly out so please correct me if i’m wrong.

The inner lid is designed to hold the powder in place, and this one came complete with the sifter. A puff would then be used to prevent the powder from spilling.

I was attracted by the delicate rose design and the fact that it also came with a matching lipstick holder - which I thought was very chic. The social history of these items fascinates me; I imagine being the person receiving this as a gift back then and thinking about what it meant to them. If you’re looking at starting a collection, I would recommend starting off with the compacts that you really like the look of before researching into rarities or focusing on a particular brand or period.

I’ve decided not to collect the lipstick holders although they’re kinda cute, and even include the type of lipstick on the base. However I do like the matching sets and think these would be an asset to any collection.

After buying this compact, I realised I wanted to research and discover more designs. I found myself on Ebay  more often than not and before I knew it, I was collecting.

Stratton of England are one of the biggest manufacturers of ladies compacts and because my first buy was a Stratton, I have decided to focus my collection on these for the time being.

I am still a beginner though and I may choose to expand into other manufacturers such as Kigu further down the line.  You can find a fantastic website here: http://www.vintage-compacts.com providing extensive knowledge on the Kigu designs. I however, like a challenge and will be sharing the research I find on Stratton which, although a huge manufacturer, seem to have little information accessible online!