Here is a lovely unused compact, dating from around the 1970s - a pretty lacquered brass powder compact, with its original lining paper with instructions on how to change the pressed powder refill. The lid features magenta pink & yellow flowers against a teal blue background, drawn in a highly stylised & funky 1970s way. The reverse has an engine-turned concentric circles, a very common design for the back in the 60s & 70s. The inner paper has the Boots logo & text in gold lettering on white. Rare to find this as these compacts were usually used, whereas this one clearly has languished in someone’s drawer, or maybe never got sold in the first place. This compact measures 7.5cms in diameter & 13mm thick (that’s 3 across x 1/2) & I love this for its gorgeous, quirky 1970s highly stylised floral transfer design - so typical of that era - & the beautifully smooth lacquered finish. This was usually to stop tarnishing & perhaps protect a little against scratches. CONDITION:- This is in really pretty good condition - no wear to the base as far as I can see. A few very minor surface scratches to the rim around the blue transfer on the lid. This has a clean mirror, (except for a tiny black spot low down). The front is in great condition & the reverse looks completely unmarked. Someone has clearly taken very good care of this, even though there is no original box or slip-cover. Amazing considering it’s nigh on 45 years old !! BOOTS Everybody in the UK is aware of the Boots name - it’s such a household brand, & familiar to everyone !! With stores all over the world & a number of hugely successful own-brand ranges, it’s risen from humble beginnings to become the well-known & loved company it is today. John Boot opened the first herbalist store in Nottingham offering an affordable alternative to traditional medicines. The Thomsonian system of healthcare, first developed in the US, appealed to the devoutly religious John, as it offered a practical approach to enable the poorest to help themselves. in 1870John’s widow, Mary Boot, & son, Jesse began trading as M & J Boot, Herbalists. Jesse was rewarded with a partnership in the family business, having left school at the age of 13 to give full time support to his mother. The sale of herbs was a big feature of the early business & included roots, plants, & flowers collected locally, many of them dried on the parlour walls at the back of the shop & then powdered. in 1892 A flagship department style store was opened in Pelham Street, Nottingham. The impressive new shop showcased the varied array of products now available at Boots, from the dispensary, perfumery & stationery on the ground floor to the pictures, glass & fancy goods on the upstairs gallery. The exquisite interior design was heavily influenced by Jesse’s wife Florence. Impressed by the latest innovations, such as electric lighting, the store took the public fancy amazingly. The Pelham Street shop became the model for future Boots stores. No.7 in
