EDWARDIAN ERA 9-Piece Vanity Travel Set, Celluloid, order Wood, Glass & Chrome Beauty Tools in Tan Pigskin Case, Antique 1900s
AWAY FOR TWO DAYS - Please note that I will be away at a conference.
AWAY FOR TWO DAYS - Please note that I will be away at a conference for a couple of days, and therefore your purchase will not be posted off until Wednesday Morning, 2nd November 2022.
Here is a truly splendid find !! A 9-piece travel vanity set for all your Edwardian travel needs, comprising a rectangular mirror, cream painted wooden-handled hairbrush, cream celluloid comb, chrome soap dish and lidded cream pot, cream celluloid-handled button hook and nail file, steel nail scissors, and a tall facetted glass powder pot with chrome sprinkler lid.
The interior is all lined with creamy-beige watered silk, and all the cream straps are edged in thin brown lining leather to give that opulent look and feel. I have no information about who made this, but there is a similar one that was found in a French Antiques Market here on Etsy - that's all I know.
These travel sets order were massively popular at the time, amongst the middle and upper classes, and probably hugely expensive. They were clearly pretty labour intensive to create, and used a variety of expensive materials and finishes. This one is pretty good quality, and has lasted in very nice condition for its great age. The reason I know it's probably Edwardian is the presence of a button hook included in the tools, alongside the chrome which was a very popular metal in Edwardian times.
Here are the stats:-
The mirror measures 15cms wide x 10cms high (6" x 4") and is in good condition apart from a bit of tear damage in the leather frame edging- see my mirror close-up photo.
The hairbrush measures 19.5cms long x 6cms wide (7 5/8" x 2 3/8") and appears to be made of wood that has been washed in a thin layer of cream paint, to mimic ivory maybe ?
The comb measures 16.3cms x 3cms (6 3/8 x just under 1 1/8") and is made oc cream celluloid. This sits in its own compartment at the front of the case.
The chrome soap dish measures 8.5cms x 5cms (3 3/8" x 2") and the circular chrome lidded pot for your face cream measures 5.5cms in diameter (just under 2 1/4")
The tall facetted glass powder pot measures 16.5cms long x just over 3.5cms wide (6 1/2" x 1 3/8") and has vestiges of powder still on the inside of the glass.
CONDITION
This is all in pretty good condition, with a few signs of wear, detailed below:-
There are a few very small grey marks on the back of the hairbrush handle.
The mirror has tear damage in the edging leather (see the close-up photo).
The nail file is a little rusty, but that is to be expected in a steel rough textured item.
The tan pigskin case is in pretty good condition with a few water stains marks here and there.
There is a tear in the thin brown lining leather of the base, but that's not obvious as it's on the bottom.
All in all, sets in good condition like this are hard to find these days - often they are in really bad shape, with items missing or replaced with inappropriate replacements. I think these are all original pieces in this one, but the scissors could be a replacement pair.