Art Deco Beauty in Vintage Jewelry – Natty Creations Scarf Holder

I love Art Deco … anything and everything Art Deco!  From architecture to fashion to vehicles … I just love it!

It reflects back to a time when “progress” was the be all – end all.  Everything was meant to be faster, streamlined to get there quickly.  As always, humankind over-did it and now humankind is trying to find a way to slow. it. down.  NOW! 

Another thing I love is finding something new and different – to me, anyway.  I’m a research-aholic.  So when I came across this incredibly pretty, at first glance – brooch, I was thrilled to discover that it wasn’t just a brooch.  First, I thought it might be a hair barrette.  That is, until I decided that big, long pin stem on the back would probably cause just a little bit of discomfort as it pierced through one’s skull.  Definitely not a barrette. 

The fun part is that it is signed Natty Creations and the patent number is stamped onto the back.  A little bit of searching and I found the patent, filed on December 29, 1936 by Nat Levy.  It’s officially called a “scarf holder”. 

Pin it to the front of your jacket or blouse, then the two leaves are on springs so fold those over the top of your scarf and the whole thing stays neatly in place and won’t slide off!  Pretty nifty, I’d say!  Especially when the scarf holder is a beautiful brooch set with sparkling crystal clear rhinestones and ruby red glass baguettes!

While it was easy enough to find the patent information, I wasn’t able to find much about Nat Levy.  According to The Magic of Mandle http://www.guyotbrothers.com/jewelry-history/jewelry-hall-of-fame/mandle/mandle-jewelry1.htm by Lucille Tempesta and Marcia Brown, Nat Levy and Urie Mandle became partners in around 1938 forming the Urie Mandle Corporation to make costume jewelry.  Nat Levy, based on the date of the patent, obviously was making jewelry under the name “Natty Creations” prior to joining Mandle.  The Urie Mandle Corporation is said to have been extremely successful but not long-lived.  The company closed sometime during World War II, according to Researching Costume Jewelry http://www.illusionjewels.com/costumejewelrymarksm.html

I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for more information about Nat Levy.  It seems a shame that the creator of this practical and beautiful piece of jewelry seems to have disappeared into the pages of time.  If you have more info about Mr. Levy, please be sure to leave a comment!

Originally posted 2/24/2016