Vintage Germaine Monteil Makeup Powder/Rouge Compact with Mirror

This is a very rare makeup compact, as I could find no similar Germaine Monteil items with this Art Deco Logo after an extensive search. The only thing I could find was a 1940 advertisement for Germaine Monteil makeup that had the same logo. This compact is 1.5 inch square and 3/8 inch thick. It appears to be chrome plated steel with an enamel face. The hinges and latch are in excellent condition. The metal has very light normal wear. The enamel face has two very small micro scratches that are unnoticeable. The mirror has some spiderwebbing consistant with an 83 year-old mirror. Overall it looks really nice (look closely at the photos).

Germaine Monteil (pronounced “Montay”) was born Marie Germaine Moratille in Paris in 1898. Germaine moved to New York in 1919. There she met Guy Bjorkman, an interior decorator, marrying him in 1924. Germaine listed her occupation as designer on her immigration papers. Historians suggest that after arriving in America she worked for the high-end clothing manufacturer Anthony Traina [1887-1966] and the New York designer Harry Collins [1884-1980] before starting her own business, Germaine Monteil in New York, in 1929. When naming the company she adopted the maiden name of her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family – Marie Monteil. In December, 1935, Germaine Monteil introduced a cosmetic range with a fashion show and cocktail party in her New York salon. The line was wide ranging, covering both skin-care and make-up. The following year the Germaine Monteil Cosmetiques Corporation was established to handle the cosmetics side of her business managed by Guy Bjorkman. Her makeup was aimed at the upper end of the market with prices to match. Her products were sold through stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller’s and Altman’s.

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