Featured Vintage gentleman’s travel case query

Hi, I have an almost complete vintage, tan leather travelling vanity set / gentleman’s travel case with most accessories still intact. All pieces are monogrammed ‘EM’. Sadly the silk lining has not done so well & is torn in parts. I suspect this is early 20th century but have no idea of providence. I cannot seem to find a maker name on the case or pieces, hence this query. Can you please point me in the right direction as to where I might be able to start looking for who the maker is? Also helpful to know if such items are in demand/collectible and what a valuation might be.
Thank you.

 

Welcome, Missy Stan! Let me start by asking where you are in the world and how this case came to be in your possession.

 

Hi Bakersgma, thank you for responding. I am based in Melbourne, Australia & this item was given to me by an elderly family friend (90+) who has been decluttering her home. She is from a well-to-do family who worked in the law profession & going by her stories, loved to travel the world - a privilege back then in early 20th century.

 

Can we get pics of the silver marks on the pieces? I assume they are indeed silver? What a fantastic case!

 

Does it look like the lids on the various containers are silver? If so, have you looked on them for silver marks? The lids are most often marked on the outside of the lip where the lid meets the glass or collar.

 

How positively lovely, Missy! I hope you don't mind, but I needed to see your pictures BIGGER, and I imagine others will, as well!

 

Thank you all. I don’t think the lids are silver...no silver marks on any. The clock has the word ‘Wecker’ written several times on the back...a German make? Here are a couple of additional images of both clock & a container sample.

SBSVC - thank you for replying but not sure what you mean by BIGGER. I’ve had trouble uploading photos to site given the 1Mb restriction, so if there is a way around this, please let me know.

 

Missy, I only meant that the photos in your first post were thumbnail size, so I couldn't get a good view of this lovely set!

The 1Mb restriction is pretty solid, but if you use a resizing program, you can get them down to an acceptable size.

In any case, you did a GREAT JOB with your newest photos! Just perfect.

 

Wecker is German for "alarm clock." Not the name of the maker, I'm afraid.

 

Thank you Bakersgma, would use of the word ‘Wecker’ nonetheless indicate a German made clock?

SBSVC - you are right, I posted the initial lot of photos as thumbnails so here they are again as full images, I hope these are more helpful.

 

I think being German is very likely.

 

Hello from Melbourne!! A lovely case. Early 20th century, I'd say.

 

Welcome Missy. Love the case.
I have a similar case in red leather which used to be my grandmother's. She loved red, and had a matching hatbox, which I also have now.
The case has similar fluted glass containers, the lids on those are silverplated, with gorgeous Art Nouveau motifs. The other pieces vary a bit from yours, no alarm clock and more brushes, but it is the same idea and period.
She got it for her travels when she was still single, she married in 1922. In 1914 she was 18 and from then on she travelled a lot with her mother, mostly visiting family abroad. She may not have had the case and hatbox straight away, but sometime between 1914 and 1920, I guess.

The alarm clock could have been made in any German speaking country, but I think Germany is most likely in this case.

I wouldn't replace the silk. You would have to get a similar silk, make all the pockets and bands in a professional way, line cardboard with the silk, etc, etc. And after all that hard work you'd be left with a non-original antique.

 

Welcome to Antiquers Missy!

 

The little alarm timepiece is German but I suspect the assemblage is British made, C. 1920. Buying in items like the clock would be normal. The quality of the clock indicates that this was a somewhat mid market set.

 

the lack of any sterling marks would suggest that also.......but still.....a wonderful set for a gentleman !!

 

Thank you all for your input, all very helpful to learn about this piece.

 

Afantiques - would it be common for mid-market products such as this not to have a maker’s name included?

 

I would be inclined to say yes, but cannot cite any fixed rule. One commercial reason was so that retailers could add their own labels. Only the up-market concoctions would be proudly owned by the makers.
The 'Brand' thing is a 20th C innovation, attaching makers names to low priced mass market products, and is mostly irrelevant in the world of antiques.

It is almost always immaterial who made routine 19th C. goods, no-one remembers them now anyway. Only a few names have substantial status before 1900, it was mass literacy and mass advertising that invented the current obsesssion that brand names have become.