Thread: Need Help: UK - vintage ahaving mores and items - 1914-1920

Another note, the table of contents is on page 7, so that might help you stumble around in it as its about 100 pages long

Thank you, Tyler, I will look into this

Cheers

B.

Keep in mind this site is dedicated to use and care of razors and related. Scholarly treatment of the subject is really out in left field. Unless you get someone personally interested in shaving history and lore you probably won't get much of the type of information you are looking for.

Hi TheBigSpendur,

oh - I am not looking for a "scholarly treatment"

I simply hope there will be a few members among the big number here who happen to have come across such information or maybe even collect such items and info. I'm not hunting for a scientific tract or anything

Cheers,

B

I'm sure lots of folks are wondering, so I'll ask...

what prompted the need for this specific information??

Hi Cangooner,

I need to describe this, as authentically as possible, in a book. I'm researching it myself as well, but find that the input of men who actually shave this way and have quite different insights from myself would be very valuable to also have.

E.g. I know that Bay Rum was a preparation for aftershave treatment. But was it available ready-made or was there a recipe? How did it smell and feel like, what effect did it have on the skin, etc..

Hope this answers your question?

Cheers

B.

Originally Posted by Berenice

Hi Cangooner,

I need to describe this, as authentically as possible, in a book. I'm researching it myself as well, but find that the input of men who actually shave this way and have quite different insights from myself would be very valuable to also have.

E.g. I know that Bay Rum was a preparation for aftershave treatment. But was it available ready-made or was there a recipe? How did it smell and feel like, what effect did it have on the skin, etc..

Hope this answers your question?

Cheers

B.

Interesting! I think you've set yourself one heck of a challenge with this. As thebigspendur indicated there is a bit of a shortage of reliable info in the field, and a whole lot of myth and legend.

I'm afraid I can't help you with this very much at all at the moment, but I am pretty sure that I have seen a number of 'issue' straight razors issued to British troops, and I'm also pretty sure that at least some of them were circa WWI. Not sure on that, but it's ringing some bells. I'll see if I can remind myself where I got that from and pass on any info I come across.

For the cost of razors, try a google image search for "vintage straight razor ad" or something similar. For example, I have an ad from 1896 that lists Wade & Butcher hollow ground razors at between $8.00 and $17.00 per dozen, and De Pews at 16.00 per doz. So the info is definitely out there, and it should just be a matter of finding ads from the right time and place. Quite a few end up on ebay, so you might want to check images on listings there. Same goes for soaps too. I suspect you will find a fair number of soap ads. I have a Williams Shaving Soap ad from 1900 that lists the following:
Williams Shaving Sticks 1s.
Williams Luxury shaving tablets (??? What the heck were those? I have no idea!) 1s.
Williams American shaving tablets 6d
Williams "Jersey Cream" toilet soap 6d.

And no prizes folks for guessing what kind of 'art' decorates my bathroom.

Good luck! And please keep us posted.

EDIT: is a soap 'tablet' just what we would now call a 'puck'?

I can't provide much info, but hope this helps:

There was a co-op, the Army & Navy Cooperative Society, which was set up to provide military men with all kinds of useful items, and I've seen shaving related kit such as razor rolls/cases, and I think straight razors as well, with their brand marks. They were independent from 1870 to 1930-ish, so that covers your period. History here.

I also have a razor stamped "H. M. Govt", made by J Rodgers ('Cutlers to their majesties') and I've always assumed it was made for the military. I suspect it's a bit later than the Great War era, but attach photo anyway:


I know that several straight razor specialist companies went bust in the early 1920s, and that safety razors with disposable blades came on the market around 1900, so both would have been available to soldiers in the time you're interested in.

Hope some of that's useful.