Florida Map Souvenir Powder Compact with Dolphin and Alligator, Two-Tone Engraved Lid
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A Florida road-trip souvenir, made to hold face powder
The Florida map souvenir powder compact is a flat, rectangular metal case whose lid carries a two-tone map of the state: the land in gold tone, the sea and sky in silver tone, with 24 towns and attractions named from Pensacola to Key West. A script "Florida" banner, palm trees, a flamingo, a sailfish, an alligator, a leaping dolphin, a sprig of oranges and a woman diving off the corner fill the open water. Inside, this copy has a mirror in the lid and a hinged mesh sifter over the powder well, which makes it a loose-powder compact, the kind sold at gift shops and attractions as a woman's souvenir.
The same lid was also sold with a different inside. Several copies listed as "Petty Cash" holders have a clear plastic tray marked for nickels, dimes, pennies, quarters and half dollars, plus a spring money clip in the lid, so the "petty cash holder" name that sometimes follows this compact belongs to the other version. The coin-holder format was a stock souvenir of its day, made with other state maps (a Ritz Texas case is listed) and with event designs such as the 1962 Seattle World's Fair Space Needle.
No maker's mark shows in this copy's photos, but a sister lid, identical except that it shows Bok Tower in place of the dolphin and leaves out the alligator, turns up as a powder compact whose puff is printed "COMPACTS by RITZ," and Etsy and eBay sellers list it as Ritz. Ritz appears on a collector list of American compact case makers, but no history of the firm was found, and it shouldn't be confused with Charles of the Ritz, the New York cosmetics house, which sold its own compacts.
The map helps date the design. It names Marineland, which opened in 1938 as Marine Studios (the town of Marineland followed in 1940), Cypress Gardens, opened in 1936, and Bok Tower, dedicated in 1929, while nothing from Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971, appears. Sellers date both lids to the 1950s or 1960s. This copy was kept as a small keepsake box: an S&H Green Stamp, a 10-point stamp from the Sperry and Hutchinson trading stamp program, and a tiny paper picture of the Virgin Mary sit in the powder well.
Which Florida map compact is it?
Two lids and two insides turn up in the same case, and the right-hand side of the lid and the inside sort them out. From this copy and listing photos, checked October 29, 2026.
| Version | Marks | Tells | Inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphin lid, powder This copy | None seen | Leaping dolphin off the east coast, alligator near Bonita Springs; reeded back | Mirror, mesh sifter with sewn fabric border |
| Dolphin lid, Petty Cash | "Petty Cash" on the coin tray | Same lid as this copy | Clear coin tray, money clip |
| Bok Tower lid, powder | Puff printed "COMPACTS by RITZ" | Bok Tower drawn off the east coast, no alligator | Mirror, puff, powder pad |
| Bok Tower lid, Petty Cash | "Petty Cash" on the coin tray | Bok Tower lid; one copy has a crosshatched diamond back | Coin tray marked NICKLES, DIMES, PENNIES, QUARTERS, HALF DOLLARS; money clip |
- Look right of the peninsula. A leaping dolphin means this lid, and a tall tower drawing means the Bok Tower lid.
- Other Florida map compacts are different designs. One has the "Florida" banner at top right with a mermaid and a sailboat, another is round with the map engraved in a single tone.
- Backs vary. This copy's back is finely reeded, while a Bok Tower Petty Cash copy has a crosshatched diamond back.
- Tarnish turns the silver tone dark. Worn copies, like this one, look bronze all over, with green spots where the plating has failed.
A gold Florida on a silver sea, with a mirror and powder sifter inside
The case is a shallow rectangle, slightly wider than tall, with a small tab clasp centered on the front edge. The lid is engraved in two tones: the land, the "Florida" ribbon banner and the main pictures in gold tone, raised slightly from a silver-tone ground with a fine frosted texture and engraved wave lines. Place names run in small block capitals along the coasts and down the peninsula, each town marked with a small open circle, and the "Florida" on the banner is a looping script.
Inside, the lid holds a plain rectangular mirror. Below it a hinged frame of fine woven mesh, edged with a padded off-white fabric border sewn on with a zigzag stitch, lifts on a fabric pull tab to show the powder well, whose floor is ribbed metal like the back.
- Lid, upper left: Florida banner in script on an unrolled ribbon, under the Panhandle with Pensacola and Panama City.
- Lid, left and bottom: two palm trees, gulls, a flamingo, a large ribbed fan shape that reads as a sun hat or a shell, water lilies and a starfish shape along the shore.
- Lid, Gulf: a cabin cruiser off Tampa and St. Pete, a leaping sailfish, and an alligator near Bonita Springs.
- Lid, right: oranges with leaves at the top corner, a leaping dolphin over waves off St. Augustine and Marineland, and a woman in a swimsuit diving at the bottom corner.
- Back: fine vertical reeding edge to edge, no mark seen.
- Inside: mirror in the lid, mesh powder sifter with sewn fabric border and pull tab, ribbed metal well.
- This copy: heavy tarnish so the silver tone reads gray-brown, green corrosion spots on the lid and back, a cloudy mirror and no puff, with an S&H Green Stamp and a small Virgin Mary picture kept inside.
Banner: Florida Place names, north to south: PENSACOLA / PANAMA CITY / TALLAHASSEE JACKSONVILLE / GREEN COVE SPRINGS ST AUGUSTINE / GAINESVILLE SILVER SPRINGS / MARINE LAND ORLANDO / DAYTONA BEACH TAMPA / ST PETE / CYPRESS GARDENS BOK TOWER / SARASOTA / PALM BEACH FT LAUDERDALE / HOLLYWOOD / FT MYERS BONITA SPRINGS / MIAMI BEACH / MIAMI KEY WEST Stamp kept inside: SPERRY & HUTCHINSON / S&H / 10 DISCOUNT FOR CASHSome names are split around the town circles on the lid, such as CYPRE · SS GARDENS.
- Florida souvenir compact
- Florida map powder compact
- Florida Petty Cash coin holder
- Ritz Florida compact
- Vintage Florida vanity compact
- Florida state map compact mirror
Copies for sale right now
3 live listings of the dolphin lid on eBay and Etsy, checked October 29, 2026. Five more listings show the Bok Tower lid, which is a different design and is left out. These are asking prices, not sales, since eBay's sold prices need a sign-in and aren't included.
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Dolphin lid, Petty Cash, tarnishedView on Etsy ↗About the Florida map souvenir compact
Is this a powder compact or a petty cash holder?
The same Florida map lid was used for both, and the powder version, like this copy, has a mirror in the lid and a hinged mesh sifter over a powder well. The Petty Cash version has a clear plastic tray with slots for nickels, dimes, pennies, quarters and half dollars, and a money clip inside the lid.
Who made the Florida map compact?
This copy shows no maker's mark in its photos. Powder copies of the sister lid with Bok Tower on it have a puff marked Compacts by Ritz, and Ritz also sold a Texas map Petty Cash case, so Ritz is the likely maker. Ritz appears on a collector list of American compact case makers, but its history wasn't found, and it is not the same as Charles of the Ritz.
How old is the Florida map souvenir compact?
Probably the 1950s or 1960s. The map names Marineland (opened 1938), Cypress Gardens (1936) and Bok Tower (1929) but nothing from Walt Disney World (1971), and the same Petty Cash case format turns up dated by events such as the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Sellers date the compact from the 1950s to the 1960s.
What is the difference between the dolphin and Bok Tower versions?
The map, banner, palms and diver are the same, but on this version a leaping dolphin sits off the east coast and an alligator near Bonita Springs. On the other, a drawing of Bok Tower stands off the east coast instead of the dolphin, and the alligator is missing.
What is a Florida map compact worth?
On October 29, 2026, the dolphin version asked $14 to $30 before shipping and the Bok Tower version asked about $13 to $25, though these are asking prices, not sales.
- Owner's photos of this copy: lid, back, inside and the stamp
- eBay: Florida powder compact, dolphin lid, for a second copy of this exact lid
- Etsy: Florida Petty Cash coin holder and Etsy: Florida coin and money compact, for the dolphin lid on the coin-holder version
- eBay: Florida map Petty Cash coin holder, for the coin tray text, the money clip and the diamond back on a Bok Tower copy
- eBay: Florida souvenir powder compact with puff, for the "COMPACTS by RITZ" puff in a Bok Tower copy
- Etsy: 1950s Florida souvenir powder compact, Compacts by Ritz, for a seller's Ritz attribution and 1950s date
- eBay: Ritz Texas souvenir Petty Cash case, for Ritz using the same coin-holder format with another state map
- eBay: 1962 Seattle World's Fair Petty Cash coin holder, for the format in use in 1962
- eBay: 1960s Florida Petty Cash coin holder, for a seller's 1960s date on the Bok Tower lid
- Collecting Vintage Compacts: American case manufacturers, for Ritz on a list of American compact makers
- Collecting Vintage Compacts: A to E, for Charles of the Ritz as a separate New York cosmetics brand with its own compacts
- Wikipedia: Marineland of Florida and Marineland, Florida, for the 1938 opening as Marine Studios and the town's 1940 incorporation
- Wikipedia: Cypress Gardens, for its 1936 opening
- Wikipedia: Bok Tower Gardens, for the tower's 1929 dedication
- Wikipedia: Walt Disney World, for its 1971 opening
- Wikipedia: S&H Green Stamps, for the Sperry and Hutchinson program and its 1, 10 and 50 point stamps