Vintage Melissa retailer Musical Compact

This very attractive powder compact was made by the Melissa company in the 1950's. The rectangular gold tone body has a lid decorated with flying swallows over bulrushes near water, a charming scene. Inside the lid is a mirror in very good clear condition. On the left of the body is the musical winder and button that pulls out to start the tune and in to sop or when the lid is closed. This mechanism works perfectly and plays a Brahms Lullaby. The right hand side has a lid that flips open to reveal the powder compartment which contains the original puff and sifter. The puff is thin but in good vintage condition, the sifter looks unused. The back has engine turned finishing. It measures 9.5cm ( 3 3/4in ) x 6.5cm (2 1/2in ) x 1.7cm (3/4in ) and is in really great condition. There is also a grey soft pouch which retailer has a small patch of wear on the closed end as shown.

History of the company:-
Melissa was a British brand made by Searchlight Products (Melissa) Ltd. This firm was known to be located in Acton, London, in the early 1950s. By 1962 this company also had premises at Arundel Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex. A service department (A.R.D. Melissa) tasked with repairing accessories was located at Fitzherbert Spur, Farlington, Hampshire.

Regent of London powder compacts and Melissa often have identical features - like catches, engraved designs on the inner lid and base suggesting that they were made in the same manufacturing premises. There is a consensus of opinion in the world of compact collecting that the Melissa and Regent of London brand were mainly manufactured in the 1950s with some being made in the 1960s, just prior to the end of production for this firm.