STRATTON Brass Willow Pattern high quality Powder Compact, Chinese Design on Lid, Large Flapjack Size, Includes Original Sifter, Vintage 1950s

Here is a gorgeous vintage powder compact, built to take loose powder and manufactured by the famous Stratton company back in the early 1950s. This is a real Art Deco style design - a very large circular scone compact with ashiny and matt brass rendering of the famous 'Willow Pattern' the lid, and the fine concentric circles on the base. Very 1930s in style, but manufactureded in the early 1950s I believe.

CONDITION:-
This compact measures just over 10cms in diameter (a full 4") and is in excellent condition considering it's about seventy years old - it still stays shut and opens easily, and there is no sign of the dreaded green verdigris. This has been used in the past and therefore there may be vestiges of the original powder, but it has been thoroughly cleaned out, and the mirror is in good condition with no spotting, misting or cracks of any kind. There are a few teensy scratches in the unlacquered brass finish, but that's only to be expected, and on the whole, this is a lovely collector's item !! This comes with its original mesh sifter, which is in fine condition too.

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 world's powder compact manufacturers.
Stratton started out in 1860 as a knitting needle manufacturer, and marketed their first powder compacts in 1923. These early compacts were imported, part-finished from the USA, and given the less than glamorous name “Stratnoid” – the same brand as the company's knitting needles!

By the early 1930s, the compacts became “Stratton”s, borrowing the name from the hero in a popular high quality novel. I'd love to discover which novel… 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. Germany's 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 “self-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 polish… 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 “Improvements relating to toilet powder boxes or compacts”. Very Mad Men! “Glamorizer” designs were marketed for pressed powder refills, “Convertibles” for both loose and pressed powders… 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 natural… 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.
Today, the company was still based in Birmingham, UK, and still manufacturing.