The three combs shown here each carry an important provenance – that of the Miller Comb Museum in Homer, Alaska, and date to the first quarter of the 20th century. They are featured in my book on page 79 (published in 2007) and have since come into my collection.

For me they are most interesting as this exquisite, smooth colour of turquoise celluloid (sometimes sky blue) is uniquely of US origin and quite unusual in the European market and in fact probably not used by European manufacturers at that time – dense bright green yes, and the solid colours of red and black.

The colours of the combs perfectly set off the clear paste-stone settings and gold decoration while their imaginative designs demonstrate a truly artistic flair by an inspired craftsman. As with the majority of combs, however, they are not marked or stamped with any identifying name.

For more scholarly research, please examine our Resource Library and Jen’s book:

The Comb: Its History and Development