52 Ancestors - Week 8 - Heirloom - Marcia Adeline Mary McMinn

A 1904 All Black cap, a family bible with entries back to 1801, a Croix de Guerre for gallantry - there are many items owned by other family members that would be much more worthy of a post about heirlooms but my heirloom has a special connection. It is the powder compact given to me on my 16th birthday by my grandmother, Marcia Adeline Mary McMinn.

It looks like a locket, but in fact is a very small powder compact. On the lid are the initials, MMM, for Marcia McMinn. When the lid is lifted, it is clear that it once held a small mirror. Like its original black velvet ribbon, that is long gone. It held face powder and a small power puff and was used at dances - just in case your nose got shiny after too much exertion.

Marcia had been given this compact on her own 16th birthday. I'm not sure who gave it to her. Her father had passed away two years earlier under very sad circumstances, so it may have been a gift from her mother or either of her grandmothers, Mary Ann Edwards or more likely Helen McMinn who would have been more likely to have had the funds.

So why was it given to me? My girlhood initials were FMMM, and that was close enough for my grandmother who was known for her pragmatism. It was something I always knew I was going to receive. I know one of my cousins was a bit jealous so later, being a hairdresser, she inherited my grandmother's dressing table set instead.

As it had no chain, buying that was also special. I bought it from James Smith's, a Wellington area department store. Not having the funds to buy it straight away, I put it on lay-by and paid it off at a few dollars a week from the Friday evening job I had at a local bookshop. It still bears the scars of that job. On the reverse is a dent across one corner where I closed it in a drawer while leaning down to get something from under the counter.

The next big question is who will be the next owner of my heirloom? I don't have any grandchildren at this stage and, as I have a son, there will be no MMM initials for my grand-daughters. I have a niece who is also FMMM and a nephew who may carry on the MM at least. I suppose one day I will find the perfect person to inherit my grandmother's powder compact.


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