Pages

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Compact Collection: #1 - Whitby Souvenir Compact

Those of you who followed my previous blog will be aware that one of the things I avidly collect is vintage powder compacts. Unfortunately, with the relocation during the Autumn, it’s a collection which has gone relatively ignored recently. My collection is currently housed safely in a box since I do not have an appropriate method for displaying them, and until this latest purchase I hadn’t made any additions to my collection.

Over time, I will share each item of my collection with you, so what better start to make than with the most recent.

My newest addition
Powder compacts have been popular since around the early 1900s, but gained particular popularity between around the 1920s through the 1960s. 

Original advert from 1960s

There are many examples available for the collector, and they can be found everywhere from the local car boot sale, to posh antique houses. Similarly, the range of types and prices varies dramatically, and some collectors choose to stick to a specific manufacturer (Gwenda, Kigu, Stratton to name but a few), whilst others stick to a specific topic, for example compacts with ballerinas on. My collection is quite eclectic with a good range of all genres, makes and ages. The latest edition is a souvenir compact, and given my proximity to its subject location, I was fairly determined to acquire it.



It depicts a painting of a sailing boat at Whitby, and is signed Whitby 1880. The compact would not date from 1880, that’s the painting. I wouldn’t like to give a date estimate to the compact, but hazard a guess that these would, at some point, have been available to buy in this popular fishing town, and tourist resort as a momento of a visit. This one is in particularly good condition, and unlike some of my compacts, will not be used. This is a display one only, heading into my bookcase as a point of interest. It’s the first in my collection to depict somewhere local, so, to me, is a particular treasure.


2 comments:

Rachael said...

That's a really nice find you got yourself there. I love collecting compacts that have either a local link or especially souvenir ones from places I've been.

Vix said...

You've got a fab collection, the latest addition is lovely! x