After getting a little disheartened with collecting compacts I thought I'd try and throw myself back into writing about my hobby - so far its working and I'm feeling much more engaged and happier. I thought i'd take the time to say that I get attracted to powder compacts that are different, I love colour and odd sizes just like this over-sized compact. Because of this it made its way onto my Christmas Ebay wish list - it's red, made of leather and has a gazelle leaping in flowers as decoration. Gazelles may seem an odd animal to be upon beauty accessories but as a motif they became popular during the Art Deco period if only for a short time - a trend that continued well into the 1950s. Some suggest it was the result of the popularity of the film Bambi, whatever the reason it can be found across a range of manufacturers including this one by the New York house Rex.
Made of red leather this compact measures four and a half inches in diameter, classifying it as a flapjack [anything over four inches fits this category] dating around the 1940s/50s. I sometimes wonder if such a size limited it's ability to be carried in purses and is far from being as practical as it's smaller counterparts and was probably just used at a ladies dresser. The puff and sift that came with this compact aren't original as the puff would have had Rex fifth avenue banded across it's ribbon.
With particular regards to leather compacts, manufacturers produced them in a range of colours - sometimes matching the purses the compacts came with additional accessories a lady could purchase from the same line. In fact there is a green version of the this compact on Ebay - whether someone would pay $95 for this is another matter. Yes vintage compacts can go for some very crazy prices.
* And yes that really is a
Christmas tree in the background of these photographs, I'm suffering from a huge compact post backlog so be prepared for a compact overload in the coming weeks.