A compact (also powder box, powder case and flapjack) is a

cosmetic Cosmetic may refer to: * Cosmetics, or make-up, substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning *Cosmetic, an adjective describing beauty, aesthetics, or appearance, especially concerning the human body *Cosmetic, ...

product. It is usually a small round metal case and contains two or more of the following: a mirror, pressed or loose face powder with a gauze sifter and a

powder puff Powder puffs are pieces of soft material used for the application of face powder. They may be shaped as balls or pads. Historically, powder puffs have been made of very fine down feathers, cotton, fine fleece, etc. In modern times synthetic m ...

History

Compacts date from the early 1900s, a time when make-up had not gained widespread social acceptance and the first powder cases were often concealed within accessories such as walking sticks, jewellery or hatpins. From 1896, American handbag manufacturer Whiting & Davis created lidded compartments in its bags where powder rouge and combs could be stowed. In 1908,

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

' catalogue advertised a silver-plated case with mirror and powder puff (price 19 cents) and described it as small enough to fit in a handbag. In the US, manufacturers such as Evans and Elgin American produced metal compacts with either finger chains or longer tango chains. Designed to be displayed rather than fitted in a handbag, they required more ornate designs and many from this era are examples of sleek

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

styling. As make-up became more mainstream and women were increasingly active outside the home, compacts became more popular. British manufacturer Stratton began importing part-finished powder boxes from the US for assembly at its

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

plant in 1923 and by the 1930s it was creating them from scratch and producing half the compacts used by the UK cosmetics industry. The company developed self-opening inner lids in 1948, designed to protect the powder and prevent damage to fingernails, and by the 1960s it was exporting to agents worldwide.

Designs and variations

Compacts were heavily influenced by prevailing fashions – for instance, the 1922 discovery of

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

's tomb spawned Egypt-inspired obelisks, sphinxes and pyramids, while the growing popularity of the car meant compacts were incorporated into visors, steering wheels and gears. Jewellers such as Van Cleef & Arpels,

Tiffany Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...

and Cartier began producing

minaudière A minaudière is a women's fashion accessory, generally considered a jewellery piece, intended to substitute for an evening bag. A case with compartments, it allows storage for several items in a small space, such as a makeup compact, lipstick, watc ...

s, metal evening bags/vanity cases carried on a metal or silk cord that contained a compact plus space for a few other small items, many were inlaid with jewels or personalised. By the 1930s, compacts were regularly updated to match the season's fashion trends and gimmicks such as watches and even miniature windscreen wipers were included in designs. Later, compacts became popular souvenir items, both the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and New York world's fairs of the 1930s included souvenir powder cases, and during holidays.

Decline

Although compacts continued to be in widespread production up to the 1960s, their popularity diminished as the cosmetics industry created

plastic container Plastic containers are containers made exclusively or partially of plastic. Plastic containers are ubiquitous either as single-use or reuseable/durable plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic bags, foam food containers, Tupperware, plasti ...

s that were designed to be discarded once the powder ran out. These began to be heavily advertised from the 1950s. Writing in ''Americana'', Deirdre Clemente suggested that changing make-up trends, notably for natural rather than pale and powdered complexions from the late 1950s on, contributed to the declining popularity of the compact.

References

External links

British Compact Collectors' Society
{{Authority control Fashion accessories Cosmetics Mirrors Domestic implements