Lot 756: Cartier Art Deco Enamel and Gold Compact

Cartier Art Deco period enamel and gold powder compact with enameled chain and finger ring, housed in the original silk lined tooled leather case with Cartier logo. Compact XRF tested 14K. Compact: 1 1/2" diameter. Case: 1 1/4"H x 3 1/2"W x 2 1/2"D. The initials on the compact, LDG, are those of American socialite and businesswoman Lelia Sinclair Gordon Dickey (1899-1989). She was the great-granddaughter of tycoon Bazil Gordon, owner of Wakefield Manor Farm in Virginia, and in 1916 served as a bridesmaid at the first marriage of her second cousin, Wallis Simpson (for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne). She ran the Lelia Noyes Dress Shop on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC., for many years. Her husbands included Newbold Noyes, associate editor of the Washington Evening Star.

PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of Lelia Sinclair Gordon Dickey Noyes Lucas.

CONDITION: Two very small worn spots in enameling near the opening and at the point where the chain joins the compact, and an additional tiny spot of wear to side. Several small scratches. Retains powder and puff. Box with wear to exterior and some small stains to interior.