Some Valentines Day Lovebirds

I thought I'd go with the Valentines Day theme and show you this silver-plated Zell compact which I got rather excited about when it appeared upon Ebay. Not only did this compact come unused, with it's original puff and sift and it's original box. But also the original box it was posted in by Zell on behalf of a man serving during WWII.  

A bit of poking around on Wiki reveals that the T/5 before the senders name indicates he was a member of the Technician Fifth Grade Rank within the US Army. The addition of the T/5 helps us to date this compact because as a rank, the T/5 only existed between 1942 to 1948. Additionally a bit of detective work reveals the stamps to first released in 1938 because they bare the face of John Quincy Adams, a former president of the USA. All that is left is to assume that this compact was a Christmas gift perhaps from a brother to his sister, or father to his daughter.

Upon the compact's cover are two large exotic love birds decorated alongside orange and fruit trees, with pink and white flowers carried off around the edge upon the silver - gold design. The detailing and it's quality is immense and for being this one, being in this fine condition is rare.

Unfortunately the mirror itself needs replacing because it's come apart from the compact but that can easily be replaced. The original paper declaration of the silverplate is additionally intact and in fine condition like the powder pan. This is due to the fact that this compact has never been used therefore the chemicals within the make up haven't effected the metal or the mirror which often suffer from considerable markings and blurring over time. Having all these pieces in such good condition is incredible and was worth the money we spent on securing it.

However and wherever your spending today, if you believe in it or not, have a lovely day. I love what TJ created to celebrate this day of love - we even feature upon the photograph wall! We're using it as an excuse to go for posh three course afternoon tea on Friday which I really am so looking forward too and Joe got an extra Transformer from me for his collection. Tonight we'll just spend watching NCIS and The Big Bang Theory reruns, hopefully getting a take out and drinking wine.