Volpute Carry All

This carry all came with a bit of a tale. Me and Joe had opted to spend a Saturday poking around antique malls in which we saw this sitting in a display case - carry all's excite me after never seeing them in the UK so I had my eye on it. We carried on looking around but when we went back to it's display case it had gone - yet we'd found a cake stand and a music box so I was a happy girl. Getting back into the car Joe passed me a paper bag and there inside was the carry all! While disappearing to go to the loo he'd quickly gone and brought this for me, asking the ladies who were running the mall to keep it a secret so he could surprise me. He really is a dream.

But to the details of the carry all! As a brand Volupte were based out of New Jersey and came to be known as one of the top designers particularly through their sale of Golden Gestures compacts [compacts in the shape of hands that can go for $200 minimum]. Manufacturing between the 1930s to the 1950s Volupte are credited as being a prolific manufacturer with regards to their designs, styles and shapes. 

Carry all's differ from compacts because they were designed to carry more then merely powder. They were made to allow the lady to carry everything she may need in one place - from her powder, lipstick, a comb, somewhere to perhaps store notelets, stamps or cigarettes and often with a larger mirror then your standard compact. I knew from the off that this carry all had seen better days but I love re-homing them - sometimes they'd had a more exciting life then ones that are in perfect or near perfect condition. Plus a good clean up has definitely helped, the brand marking can now he clearly seen upon the powder well flap, the rusty mirror is more usable and the lipstick markings are less obvious.

While its had a life, it came complete with it's original brand marked powder puff, lip stick container, which unfortunately had it's slider broken and a fabric envelope - this may have been for a comb or as some suggest a place to store paper, money or keys and are apparently is an item often missing within many vintage carry all's. Its had a bit of a battering getting to 2012 but now it's got a home with me it's going to fair much better.

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