Vintage Compact Designers and Manufacturers

VINTAGE COMPACT DESIGNERS A - E

ANNETTE: Can find no definitive information.

BAIRD-NORTH CO: Providence, Rhode Island. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1930s.

BIRKS: Established in Montreal, Canada on March 1, 1879. In 1887 started a jewelry factory upstairs over the shop. Called the "Tiffanys of Canada". Specialized in sterling silver. Earliest registered hallmark under the Birks family name is dated 1564.

BLISS BROS. CO: United States. Making compacts in the period between 1930s to 1950s.

BOOTS: Boots the Chemist was established in Nottingham, England in the early part of the 1900s. Signed "Boots" in script or a "B" in script. Still in business.

CHARBERT: New York. Selling compacts in the 1930s. Probably did not manufacture their own cases.

CHARLES OF THE RITZ: American cosmetics house located in New York City.

CINER: United States jewelry manufacturer. Making compacts during the 1950s.

CLARICE JANE: Division of Elgin American.

COLLEEN MOORE: Cosmetics house. Probably started mass producing affordable compacts in the 1940s.

CORO: American costume jewelry manufacturer. Probably produced a limited range of compact designs beginning in the 1940s.

COTY: Paris, France early 1900s. The Coty trademark was registered in France on 9-15-14 by Francois Coty for Airspun Face Powder and compact container with white and gold powder puffs on an orange background. This design was a collaborative effort between Rene Lalique, famous glassmaker, and Leon Bakst, designer of stage sets and costumes for the Ballet Russe. There was also a New York division of this company.

CYCLAX: From England. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1920s.

DEBBIE J PALMER: Contemporary compacts. Debbie J Palmer spent 12 years as the Vice President of Design at Estee Lauder before starting her own production company in New York City. Victoria's Secret, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom's and Neiman Marcus are among the distributors.

DFB CO: Manufacturing vanity cases as early as the 1920s.

DJER-KISS: M. Kerkoff of Paris, France. Exported to the United States in the 1920s. Had Kerkoff's Parfum Shop on the Champs Elysees in Paris. Compacts are usually small and silver in color. Very collectible.

DORSET FIFTH AVENUE: United States. Manufacturing compacts between 1930s to 1950s.

DOROTHY GRAY: American cosmetics house. Probably began mass producing affordable compacts in the 1940s. Taken over by the Playtex Co.

DUBARRY: England. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1920s.

EISENBERG ORIGINAL: American costume jewelry manufacturer. Limited number of designs in compacts probably beginning in the 1940s. Very collectible.

ELIZABETH ARDEN: American cosmetic house. Probably began mass producing affordable compacts in the 1940s.

ELGIN: United States. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1930s. Started out as the Illinois Watch Co of Elgin, Illinois in the 1880s. Manufactured compact cases for many of the famous cosmetic houses. In 1950, commissioned Salvadore Dali to create a compact. The result was the "Bird in Hand" which featured a powder compartment, pill box and lipstick. It came in three finishes - satin bronze, silver and sterling silver - all with 14K overlay on the wings. In 1963, after a very long labor dispute, the decision was made to close the Elgin American plant and move to Japan.

ELSA PERETTI: Contemporary compacts.

ENESSA: England. Manufacturing compacts during the 1940s and 1950s.

ESTEE LAUDER: Contemporary compact manufacturer. Has been manufacturing compacts for over thirty years from classic goldtone styles to a wide variety of figurals, often encrusted with Austrian crystals. Her first compact was the Youth Dew golden rope solid perfume compact with a faux turquoise stone in the center in 1968. Creates approximately 25 new designs per year.

EVANS: United States, Established as the D.Evans Case Co in North Attleboro, MA in the early 1920s. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1920s. Famous for their mesh bottomed compacts and their guilloche enamel. At some point in time, they became a division of Hilsingor Corp. of Plainville, MA. Disappeared after 1965.

EVENING IN PARIS: Part of the Bourjois line. In 1930, International Perfume Inc. of NY decided to market all its products under the Bourjois label. Evening in Paris and Springtime in Paris were two of their very popular lines.

VINTAGE JEWELRY AND VINTAGE COMPACT INFORMATION

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