Gallery of old occupational shaving mugs
Here is a listing of an auction completed last month with many great old occupational mugs. The pictures are great and it's fun to see the variety and quality. Not being a collector, I can only guess why some sold for less than $50 while others commanded > $5,000. I suspect the usual antique variables of condition, rarity, perhaps cross-domain interest (e.g. the one belonging to John L. Sullivan no doubt appealed to barber and boxing collectors...though it sold under the pre-auction estimate :shrug: ). Imagine this mug rack with 90 of those mugs in it! Great old stuff.