BEHIND THE COMPACTS

Info on Compact Manufacturers


Annette: Can find no definitive info.

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 1930s. Probably did not manufacture their own cases.

Charles of the Ritz: American cosmetics house located in NY, NY.

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. Also a New York division.

Cyclax: 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, New York. 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, Mass. 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, Mass. 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.

Faberge: Prestigious jewelry house. Compacts were probably individually commissioned.

There is also a Faberge perfumer. New York circa the 1930s.

Fiancee: Part of the Woodworth line prior to 1930, but after 1930, International Perfume Inc. of NY decided to market all its products under the Bourjois label.

Flamingo: England. Established by the Fulmen Engineering Ltd in the early 1950s. Manufactured compacts for only a few short years.

Flato: Paul Flato opened shop in New York City in the 1920s as a jewelry designer. He is credited with designing the jewelry worn by Katherine Hepburn in "The Philadelphia Story". He made compacts in the 1940s and 1950s which were whimsical in design and now very collectible. The majority of his compacts also came with a lipstick which matched the compact.

Foster & Bailey: American. Turn of the century. Exquisite enameled vanities.

Georg Jensen: New York division. Georg Jensen was a very famous Scandanavian silversmith.

Girey: United States. Manufacturing compacts somewhere between the 1930s and the 1950s. Famous for their "camera" compacts.

Gloria Vanderbilt: Not the Gloria Vanderbilt of jeans fame. This was Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt - nee Gloria Morgan. Opened a NY salon from July 1946 until October 1947. Mainly a parfumerie.

Gucci: Well known name in fashion. Producing contemporary compacts.

Gwenda: Gwenda was the trademark of Hussey-Dawson of Birmingham, England. Began manufacturing compacts circa 1930. Famous for their butterfly wing and foil compacts. At the time they were made, they were actually lower end compacts. Now, very collectible and rather high end. I was told by a British customer that the old Gwenda manufacturing plant is now being turned into an office building.

Halston: Well known name in fashion. Contemporary compacts.

Harriet Hubbard Ayer: New York. Trademark name registered by Vincent B. Thomas in 1907 for his cosmetics. The original Harriet Hubbard Ayer was a woman who manufactured Lady Recamier's Facial Creme in the late 1800s and also wrote a popular beauty advice column. HHA was in business at least through the 1950s.

Hattie Carnegie: American costume jewelry manufacturer. Probably did a limited range of compact designs sometime in the 1940s or 1950s.

Helena Rubenstein: American cosmetics house. Probably began mass producing affordable compacts sometime in the 1940s.

Henriette: Trade name for the New York division of the Wadsworth Case Co of Kentucky. Manufactured compacts during the 1940s and 1950s. Famous for their novelty compacts such as the 8-ball compact.

Hingco VAnities Inc.: United States. Manufactured compacts sometime between the 1930s and the 1950s.

Hobe': American costume jewelry manufacturer. Probably had limited number of compact designs sometime in the 1940s to 1950s.

Houbigant: France. Famous perfume house. Exporting compacts as early as the 1920s.

Innoxa: England. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1930s.

Jay Strongwater: Contemporary compacts.

J.M Fisher Co: Attleboro, Mass., United States. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1920s. Very Art Deco and Art Moderne case design. Very vivid colors. Each design had a name. Fragile enamels. Rarity may increase as the enamels deteriorate.

Jonteel: Cosmetics house. Probably began mass producing affordable compacts in the 1940s.

Katherine Baumann: Contemporary compacts.

Kigu: The first Kigu compact was created by Gustav Kiashek, a second generation master silver and goldsmith from Hungary. By the early 1920s, he had a factory in Budapest to produce these compacts under his firm's tradename - Kigu. The name Kigu was derived by KI-ashek, GU-stav. His son George came to England in 1939. The Kigu Co. was established by George Kiashek in Great Britain in 1947. Advertised their product as "compacts of character". Excellent compacts - beautiful, well engineered with quality materials. Made their very collectible "flying saucer" compact in 1951. Stopped making compacts in the late 1950s and manufactured costume jewelry. Taken over by the AS Brown Co. (Mascot) in 1977 on the death of Mr. Kiashek.

K & K: United States. Kotler & Kopet. Manufactured compacts sometime during the 1930s to 1950s.

Klix: Klix is the trademark of D. Harris & Co. of Great Britain. Began manufacturing in 1950s. Famous for their transparent plastic compacts with a simple print on lid.

Lady Esther: American cosmetics house. Another company that probably began mass producing affordable compacts in the 1940s.

La Mode: United States. Ripley & Gowan Co. Manufacturing compacts as early as the 1930s.

Langlois: Cara Noma and Shari were two of its compact lines.

Le Rage: Great Britain. A division of the Evans Components Co. Manufactured compacts only during the early 1950s.

Lilly Dache: From what I can tell, Lilly Dache was a designer who was commissioned by different cosmetic houses to design compact cases.

Lucien LeLong: Paris. Cosmetics house.

Lucretia Vanderbilt: No definitive info
 

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