Spring break keepsakes

Are you getting tired of the cold and planning a warm vacation? Or do you have a favorite place to escape to the country or beach? Historically, jewelry and decorative items have acted as mementos to remember special trips. 

Long before selfies and digital filters, travelers would have to wait for photos to develop, with the risk of receiving ill-taken or unflattering images once the photos were ready. So whimsical and bejeweled mementos served as pleasant keepsakes of a trip. Charms and mini beauty travel kits were collected to help remember a favorite sojourn.

Charms would be purchased to remind oneself of a fun trip or represent a symbol of a beloved pastime. Mini travel manicure sets made of hand-painted celluloid (a type of plastic) were especially popular in the late 1920s and 1930s. Both functional and stylish, many were purchased to bring back fond memories of places like Havana, Mexico, Egypt or Turkey.

You can shop these whimsical manicure sets on our website.