Thread: Some pages from old catalog.

Some pages from old(1917) catalog. They are not very good quality, but may be helpful and interesting for someone.
http://manah.strazors.com/hsb_catalog.pdf

Thanks Alex. Any idea what year the catalog was published/printed?

Originally Posted by manah

Some pages from old(1917) catalog.

Joe, 1917.

Thanks for the catalog pages, Alex. That #204 Wade and Butcher is one of my favorite razors, but I was never sure what era it was made in. Now I can put a date to it. Also, the #121 Wostenholm matches one of my pipe razors too. I wish there was more information like this out there.

Regards - Walt

I'm sorry. I made a mistake and looked at other entries.
This Hibbard,Spencer,Bartlett & Co catalog was printed in 1899.

Here two pages(in high resolution) from Hibbard,Spencer,Bartlett & Co catalog 1917.
http://manah.strazors.com/1917_catalog.pdf

I love old catalogs, if for no other reason than to see what things cost back in the old days. I was thinking, "Crikey, straights have always been expensive," until I saw they were per dozen. Wow.

I was looking at a 1920 aviation magazine on Google Books the other day, and there was a Royal typewriter advertised for $67 (and not per dozen). Can you imagine? That was a significant fraction of the price of a car.

Thanks for posting these!

Fred

At that time typewriter was something like the most expensive computer for science today.

Walt, your W&B pictured is a lovely razor; shoulderless, thumb notch, and the characteristic W&B tang hump give it a very graceful and rugged look.

Thanks for posting this Manah, fascinating stuff. I'm surprised at how dominant 5/8ths-sized razors were even by 1899. Also, noting the terminology used, such as "hollow point" rather than the "notch point" or "barber's notch" terminology I'm used to. On the Engstrom razors, they refer to a "file tang." Does that mean that the tang has jimps, or something else? And the use of the term "handles" rather than "scales."

It's also surprising to see how many razors I recognize that I always thought had black celluloid or plastic scales, when in fact they are rubber. I also see a number of fancy etched rubber scales in the catalog that I've never actually seen an example of in person. In fact, I think only one of my razors has rubber scales for sure, I found out the hard way when I was initially cleaning it and running it under very hot water. My fingerprints were permanently embedded in the scales, and the smell was of burned rubber.

Originally Posted by manah

Here two pages(in high resolution) from Hibbard,Spencer,Bartlett & Co catalog 1917.
http://manah.strazors.com/1917_catalog.pdf

Wow! When you factor in ninty-three years of inflation - razors are a much better buy today.

For those of you who do not know; Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett became True Value Hardware.