I don’t own a lot of books on vintage fashions & collectibles because I’m not as much into price guides as I am the beauty & history of the items themselves. But from time to time I do buy them…

Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories by Lynell Schwartz

One of my favorites is Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories by Lynell Schwartz.

A large hardcover with at least one photo on each of the 190+ pages, the book covers vintage vanity items, cosmetics & other beauty items (found in ladies’ purses etc.) such as compacts, powder puffs, powder boxes, patters, carry-alls, vanity cases, and lots more.

Along with seeing pretty vintage glamour items that you might never otherwise see (outside of a museum or a private collection), the reason I love this guide book is that it provides information on the history of cosmetics — including information & historical photographs from:

* yesteryear’s stores
* advertising and retail displays found in the old stores
* vintage cosmetic companies (including manufacturing plants)
* vintage publications (magazines, catalogs)
* vintage advertisements

So along with the pretty color photographs of individual objects, you get plenty of context (including black & white photographs) for the items themselves as well as the collectible categories they are in and the culture & time period they are from.

Even if you can’t afford another collection — or the prices such beauties fetch, you’ll enjoy seeing & learning about what once was.

Tags: beauty, Books, collectibles, cosmetics, history, reviews, vintage glamour