Ladies vanity or travelling case.

[lizzietree]

Hello all! Here i have an item which i was hoping for some assistance on. It is this amazing travelling case with all its appropriate bits still intact (the perfume bottle still has its glass stopper even!).
The outside is a little battered and the silk shattered in some places, but the actual component parts are amazing. Now my confusion about this piece lies in the date. My mum bought this today and the seller said she thought it was 1890's. I felt that it was probably 1920's or 1930's. The yellow and orange colour combo just made me think it was Art Deco. Would anyone like to add their thoughts?

I'm trying to find this out more for curiosities sake than anything else, its now sitting proudly on my dressing table.It really it beautiful.

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[jauntyrooster]

I have two books that show these sets. From what I can tell, they are def. ladies sets as the mens do not have the mirrors or the brushes. Also, it looks like it might have come inside of a suitcase as shown. The sets that are on their own do not look like yours.

This is from the 1929 book - it looks most like yours:

Here are examples of the sets from the 1932 book. There are quite a few more in the book and they are all laid out like this - at angles.

I dont see any, in either book, that are made out of the same material as yours so not sure how helpful this is but maybe gives you some reference points.

Great set!

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

It is beautiful!!!! I love it! And I agree with Maureen on the dating; 20s or early 30s was my first impression, and her scans seem to confirm that. I'm not expert on either this era or the 1890s, but the mirror and the bottle don't look "old" enough to me to be 1890s. And I do have bottles from that era.

 

[Linn]

I think it might be a little bit earlier. My first thought was 1920's also but because it appears to be Celluloid and because of the button hook I did a little more hunting. I found a similar set in a 1915 Altman's Spring and Summer Catalog - not the same case but faux MOP Celluloid set and then found this button hook with a similar shaped handle dated 1910:

http://estatebeads.com/Vintage_buttons_sewing.php

(Scroll down to see it.)

If you can, please do a smell test to see if it's Bakelite or Celluloid and that might help date it. If it's Bakelite the late 1920's - early 1930's date would be correct and if Celluloid probably earlier. I agree that it's FABULOUS!

 

[Sky Ranch Vintage]

Definitely an mystery. I don't have much to offer becuase the button holer is definitely throwing me off. It's really quite gorgeous though and I'm sure you're just delighted to have it :bouncy:

 

[cmpollack]

I think it's 20s or earlier. Linn's rule of thumb sounds good to me: Likely 1910-teens if it's celluloid, 20s/30s if it's Bakelite.

I just sold a very similar (celluloid) one that had a pink silk interior and rolled up. My favorite thing in it was a little translucent pink crayon (in a celluloid case) that was labelled "Nail Polish"!

 

[lizzietree]

When i first saw it my immediate instinct was that it was celluloid. Simply because it is so lightweight. After doing the smell test i'm pretty sure it is celluloid too. When i originally though it was late 20s early 30s i was thrown by the button hook too. That was suggesting to me that it was pre WW1.
I'm starting to think it is earlier rather than later now. How exciting! The button hook is so similar to my one Linn. Wonderful.