W&B Boxer Rebellion Razor

Gentleman,
I picked up my first Wade & Butcher off the Bay last week. It is a 7/8 and has an interesting history. According to the vendor this razor was made shortly after 1900 as a political commemorative to the British involvement in the Boxer Rebellion.

As history shows Britain entered the fray after Chinese forces employed by the Empress Dowager (the Brits called them boxers but actually they practiced Chinese martial arts) declared war on all foreigners. The Righteous Harmony Society Movement (as the Chinese called the war) soldiers cornered dignitaries, diplomats, foreign civilians and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter of Beijing and threatened to slaughter them. The foreigners held out for 55 days until an eight nation alliance of 20,000 troops arrived to quell the uprising and rescue the besieged Quarter residents. But before the end of the conflict Chinese washu (kung fu) warriors had killed hundreds of Protestant converts and 18,000 Catholic converts.

The razor is in very good condition with a repaired chip in the translucent handle. It has inscriptions on both sides of the blade that are deeply engraved. This razor is not politically correct today but certainly shows a piece of a bygone era and a historical event in British history. Does anyone have any information on this razor and does it hold any special collector's value?

Thanks for your comments and any information.
Denny
300WSM:gwh:

An interesting razor and a very cool piece of history. She's in great shape too. Awesome find.

My dear Denny,

That is an intriguing razor, with an intriguing story. What a great find.

Regards,
Obie

According Robert A.Doyle this razor was made during 1850's and 60's.
"It's also interesting to note that some blades manufactured during this period have Chinese symbols stamped on them, evidently manufactured for the Chinese imigrants."
And I think it is more likely.
I have W & B with the same symbols.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...wb_chine_1.jpg

A very interesting razor. I like it a lot, and it's an interesting history (although I question its bias, especially by focusing on religion and leaving out the "Britain was doing its best to destroy the Chinese by poisoning them with opium" part of the story).

I don't read Chinese, but that looks like "Chinese flavored gibberish" to me. Chinese characters, and by extension Japanese (which I do have some familiarity with) tend towards some level of symmetry and balance. Those look more like poorly executed futhark runes...

I think, that it's not Chinese language. It's really Chinese symbols.

It's not even Chinese symbols either, more like random strokes made to somewhat remotely look like Chinese symbols.

Otherwise a nice razor, I was quite tempted to bid on one in the last weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by manah

According Robert A.Doyle this razor was made during 1850's and 60's.
"It's also interesting to note that some blades manufactured during this period have Chinese symbols stamped on them, evidently manufactured for the Chinese imigrants."
And I think it is more likely.
I have W & B with the same symbols.

---

And that inscription, "The Heathen Chinee", seems to refer to a famous poem:

The Heathen Chinee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/309...D40A26B3E28636

Beutiful, nevertheless...

Regards

Looks like something out of Lord of the Rings:


One Razor to rule them all, One Razor to find them,
One Razor to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Sheffield where the Shadows lie.

Now THAT is a truly unusual collectors piece. Gimme gimme gimme..how much?

I studied Chinese in college, and while I'm not as familiar with it as I was then, I have to agree with JimR... That looks like gibberish. Could be a feeble attempt at duplicating real characters by people who lacked the skills to do so effectively... :shrug:

Either way, cool razor :tu

[The Heathen Chinee]
Which I wish to remark,
And my language is plain,
That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee is peculiar,
Which the same I would rise to explain.

Ah Sin was his name;
And I shall not deny,
In regard to the same,
What that name might imply;
But his smile it was pensive and childlike,
As I frequent remarked to Bill Nye.

It was August the third,
And quite soft was the skies;
Which it might be inferred
That Ah Sin was likewise;
Yet he played it that day upon William
And me in a way I despise.

Which we had a small game,
And Ah Sin took a hand:
It was Euchre. The same
He did not understand;
But he smiled as he sat by the table,
With the smile that was childlike and bland.

Yet the cards they were stocked
In a way that I grieve,
And my feelings were shocked
At the state of Nye's sleeve,
Which was stuffed full of aces and bowers,
And the same with intent to deceive.

But the hands that were played
By that heathen Chinee,
And the points that he made,
Were quite frightful to see, --
Till at last he put down a right bower,
Which the same Nye had dealt unto me.

Then I looked up at Nye,
And he gazed upon me;
And he rose with a sigh,
And said, "Can this be?
We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor," --
And he went for that heathen Chinee.

In the scene that ensued
I did not take a hand,
But the floor it was strewed
Like the leaves on the strand
With the cards that Ah Sin had been hiding,
In the game "he did not understand."

In his sleeves, which were long,
He had twenty-four packs, --
Which was coming it strong,
Yet I state but the facts;
And we found on his nails, which were taper,
What is frequent in tapers, -- that's wax.

Which is why I remark,
And my language is plain,
That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee is peculiar, --
Which the same I am free to maintain.

Wow fellas,
Did not expect to receive this kind of response. Sorry I am just getting back to you as I was out of town for a time.

Jim, you are correct about the Brits and the opium trade. The Chinese would only trade silver specie (solid silver coin) for their tea. This was a problem for Britain because their whole populace was hooked on tea and they wanted to trade hard goods if possible for tea not their sterling. So they found a consumable that would work in trade... which some smuggled in on the same ships that carried the tea out! No wonder the Qing dynasty wanted to expel all foreigners.

Manah, looks like you have one as well. The story about this being a Boxer rebellion commemorative was from the vendor that I purchased it from and there was no way for me to verify it except to turn to the experts on this forum. I appreciate your input!

In regard to the Chinese characters on the blade, my brother speaks some Mandarin. I may email him the pictures. He runs a school in the Orient and speaks several languages and if he does not know himself he has friends there who do. I have to agree with those of you that say it is gibberish though. After looking closer it does not look like real characters but I cannot say definitivly.

John, as far as selling it, I would consider that but I have no idea what it is worth. Contact me privately. I would trade for an 8/8 Wade & Butcher which is what I would really like! I have been outbid on number of 8/8s on the Bay... somebody wants them really bad! Guess I will throw down a couple hundred on one and then just maybe...

Again I appreciate all of your interest and comments. If you need to know something about a straight razor, this is the place to ask!
Best regards,
Denny
300WSM:gwh:

It almost looks like "Jia Gu Wen 甲 骨 文"or something similar. I passed it to my friend and she said it definitely looks like old Chinese, but wasn't sure, so passed it to a teacher friend. They concurred that it looked Chinese, but were all guessing to as to what it meant, and they all had their own ideas. Guess this one is for someone who studied the ancient Chinese lit. Maybe it is just a westerner's impression of what the Chinese "Oracle Bone Inscription" looked like.