Found a neat new 1988 book.

[mkevenson]

VALUE GUIDE FOR BARBERIANA & SHAVING COLLECTIBLES by Phillip L. Krumholz. 1988
2nd edition AdLibs Publishing Co

from the forward

"It was 1905. There was no M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction), no satellites, spaceships, or television. A man could study hard, and get ahead. This was the world of Horatio Algers, and jobs galore beckoned in new, vital industries: automotive, telephonic,electrical, aviation.

Old customs were changing, for the better. Men were demanding their Fair share in the workplace. Women were petitioning to vote and would in some states in the not too distant future.....

This was a new world, a happy and fairly safe world that offered many more choices than ever before. You could order ice delivered to your door, or get a new-fangled electric refrigeration system. ....It was the good life.

Men no longer needed to go to the barber shop each morning, to wait in line to get a shave. The Kampfe brothers had invented a new razor that would allow you to shave yourself!"

Looks like it will be a good-un. I wounder tho why men didn't shave at home with a str8. Maybe he is referring to a select few. Anyone around then, know?

[JimmyHAD]

The same author wrote what is basically the Gillette collectors bible ( some mistakes but overall good and the only game in town) and Getting to Know Your Straight Razor. He sells on ebay as Razorman2 and is a nice guy.

Shaves with a cartridge razor and is not into straight or DE wet shaving beyond collecting, buying and selling.

I think that back then people found the newly issued safety razor easier to use. I have read that some men who could afford it kept a mug, brush and razor at their barber's shop and would go get a pro shave often.

Those that couldn't afford that took care of it themselves. Probably the majority. Lot of men wearing beards in one form or another back then.