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WWII Ladies Compact USN | Compacts29 of 51 |  |  |
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Posted 1 year ago
fhrjr2
(26 items)
I haven't had a great deal of luck finding information on this compact. There are no marks at all except the USN and anchor on the front. I am wondering if this might have been sold in a PX or ships store or if it might have been made on the local economy? It will probably take an old sailor or a collector to know. It was purchased and sent home from Guantanamo Navy base between 1943 and 1945.
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World War TwoThe events and battles of World War II played out on every continent of the…
CompactsIn the 1920s, la garçonne, or the young flapper woman of the Art Deco era, …
Hi, I had never seen one of these, so I was curious and googled it. According to Shelly Hill, it was common for a military man in WWII to send a compact gift to a lady waiting back home.
http://beauty.about.com/od/collections/qt/tupppowdercomp.htm
I just saw a similar one on ebay. It is not exactly the same. The interior of ebay compact has two compartments, not one (inferred from size of puff in your photo). The exterior of ebay looks very similar to yours, but not exactly the same. 'USN' on ebay item appears in silvertone, not 'goldtone' as in yours - possibly, this is due just to finish wear. Photographs of both also 'present' as slightly different shapes. Not much info in ebay description.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USN-US-Navy-Compact-Powder-Makeup-No-Reserve-/200753893319#vi-content
I didn't look much at all since AR8Jason had answered your question, but I thought that you'd like to know that it was a popular gift, so I reported the meager finding. Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed it.
Mikko, Lundy & AR8 thank you all for the loves.
The links are really good and pretty much settle this one. I will be able to put a note about it in with it before I pack it back away.
Mikko, no bit of information is to meager. It takes lots of little pieces sometimes to put the puzzle together. It is easy to get tunnel vision and one little thing may serve to make the bulb light up.
These type of items were popular during WW2 and fall into the category of "Sweetheart" souvenirs. Sweetheart jewelry is probably the most well known, but there was a myriad of items made and sold-- compacts, mirrors, jewelry, table cloths, pillow covers, etc....
Even to this day, PXs (I am an Army guy) still carry a wide range of service related items to send to girlfriends and moms.
Scott
Thanks for the input Scottvez. Army here also and I assumed this was probably a PX type item. I plan to empty it out and see if it is marked where the powder goes just for the heck of it.
We sure know about the PX items getting sent home. The wife has a tee shirt that says ARMY MOM on the front that she is super proud of. One of our sons bought it for her in the PX up in Georgia when we were up there visiting him. Sure has changed since my days.
Usually the training posts (such as FT Benning) are a little more stocked with those items since they are full of new soldiers and get significantly more regular visitors than a Divisional post.
Scott