When you think of Stratton, you probably picture beautifully decorated powder compacts, elegant vanity accessories and some of Britain's finest vintage craftsmanship.
But did you know that the famous Stratton name owes its existence to a fictional character in a novel?
Or that the business began with just £50 and a rather unreliable employee?
The story is certainly not what you might expect.
A Rather Unpromising Beginning
In 1911, Birmingham businessman George A. Laughton was involved in producing commemorative badges and flags for the coronation of King George V.
One of his suppliers, a man named Carter, was having difficulties. His small workshop was struggling, his deliveries were unreliable and his fondness for alcohol wasn't helping matters.
Laughton offered Carter £50 to buy the workshop equipment.
The purchase included four hand-operated presses, some tools and workbenches, and the services of two young female employees.
Laughton even agreed to employ Carter, provided he stayed sober.
Unfortunately, that arrangement lasted just two weeks!
Nevertheless, from this rather chaotic beginning, Stratton & Co. was born.
So, Where Did the Name Stratton Come From?
Here's where the story becomes particularly charming.
At the time, George Laughton's wife was reading a novel featuring a male character named Stratton.
She liked the name so much that she suggested using it for the new business.
And so, a fictional character from a now-forgotten novel gave his name to what would become one of Britain's most recognisable powder compact brands.
Quite an extraordinary legacy for a character whose story has otherwise disappeared into obscurity!
From Humble Beginnings to Beautiful Compacts
Stratton didn't begin by making powder compacts.
Its early years were spent manufacturing small metal accessories and inexpensive jewellery, developing the precision metalworking skills that would later become so important.
In 1920, Stratton & Co. was taken over by Jarrett & Rainsford, the established Birmingham manufacturing business whose history stretched back to 1860.
This explains an often-confusing detail in Stratton's history: although its wider manufacturing roots date to 1860, the Stratton name itself dates from 1911.
Over the following decades, those early metalworking skills would help the business develop into a manufacturer of elegant powder compacts, eventually recognised and collected around the world.
And the Rest, as They Say, Is History…
It's rather lovely to think that behind every vintage Stratton compact lies a story involving a £50 workshop, four hand presses, an unreliable employee and a fictional gentleman whose name has survived long after his novel was forgotten.
Not quite the glamorous beginnings you might expect!
Coming next: The Stratton Compact Story — how a Birmingham metalworking business became one of Britain's most celebrated powder compact manufacturers.
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