Highlights











































Description

Here is a simply stunning, and quite rare, vintage powder compact, built to take loose powder only, and manufactured by the famous Stratton company back in the late 1950s - early 1960s. (The Stratton advert in my last photo is dated 1959, and features the round version.) It is the boxy 'Grosvenor' shape, which is the same as the Musical compacts that Stratton produced, but this one has a lipstick case inside instead.

I love this for the pretty jewel design of many colours against the black enamel background, which is so typically a late 1950s design, and the pretty curled feather design on the reverse - a pattern which was reserved only for the luxury Stratton compacts. This has a lipstick mounted into the case beside the powder well, and took most brands of lipstick at the time. It would have originally come supplied with Stratton No.1 lipstick which was probably bright red, a very fashionable colour in the late 50s.

This measures 8.2cms x 7cms (3 1/4" x 2 3/4") and 1.7cm thick. It has an automatically opening inner lid - just push the mirror back a little further and it clicks the inner lid open - to save your beautifully manicured nails !! Only the sifter is present inside, and it does have its original black slipcover.

CONDITION:-
This compact is in excellent overall condition considering it's about sixty years old - it still stays shut and opens with a bit of effort, and the lacquered gilded brass is still lovely and shiny after all these years.. This does not look like it's ever been used and the front enamel and back feather design is all in nice condition.

STRATTON
For stylish ladies of a certain age, British company Stratton needs no introduction. In the powder heydays of the 1950s and 60s, Stratton was the most recognised and prolific of the worldu2019s powder compact manufacturers.
In 1920 two Birmingham companies merged - Jarrett and Rainsford, makers of haberdashery goods and cheap jewellery, and Stratton Ltd, makers of knitting needles, radio receivers and men's jewellery. Stratton Ltd. was owned by G.A. Laughton and the new company was called Jarrett, Rainsford and Laughton Ltd, with the Stratton name retained for the company's Fancy Metal department.

By the early 1930s, the compacts became u201cStratton`s, borrowing the name from the hero in a popular novel. Iu2019d love to discover which novelu2026 I imagine a Mr. Darcy type in a high period romance! The rebrand was a success and by the mid 30s, Stratton produced over half of all compacts used in the British cosmetics industry.

However, in 1940, disaster struck. Germanyu2019s WWII blitz of Britain claimed four of the five Stratton factories. Production was forced to a halt. Manufacture resumed after the war, but British shortages meant that raw materials, particularly metals, were in short supply. Compacts of this time can even be found made from aircraft alloy.

Luckily, the arrival of the 1950s brought major success for Stratton. The booming love for cosmetics, particularly the powdered and polished Hollywood look, made compacts a must. Stratton introduced their now famous u201cself-opening lids`. These inner lids hold loose powder safely, and unclasp automatically as you open the compact. Patented in 1948, the innovation was designed to prevent chips in nail polishu2026 and became a major selling point!

By the 1960s, there were Stratton agents worldwide and the company thrived. Designs changed with trends in cosmetics ? the growing popularity of cream (pressed) powder drove new patents, including a great sounding 1956 innovation for u201cImprovements relating to toilet powder boxes or compacts`. Very Mad Men! u201cGlamorizer` designs were marketed for pressed powder refills, u201cConvertibles` for both loose and pressed powdersu2026 And artists began to sign the tremendous range of lid designs produced.

But, sadly, you can guess the rest. The 1970s brought radical changes in makeup, and this time the look was au naturalu2026 a body blow for powder. Stratton acquired many of their struggling rivals, but failed to reposition quickly enough. By the early 1990s the once global company had become a niche manufacturer, and went on to be sold a number of times.