Thread: Mr. Hallam's Razor

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

...Neil, do you have any idea if anyone was using the GR stamp for George the III? I'd gotten the impression that the tradition more or less started (at least with razors) when George IV got going in earnest and had pretty well died out by the end of Victoria's time (though I have seen a J. Weiss 7-Day set that is unequivocally 1920's with a GR stamp).

I think you meant "unequivocally 1820s" there!

Despite a prolonged search I cannot find any GR-stamped George III razors - plenty of razors from that era (eg a Samuel Last 7-day set), but none of them with GR. Having said that, I suppose only makers that held the Royal Warrant were allowed to use such a device, so that considerably narrows the field for that time. Some (later, eg Charles Jaschke the 'Royal Barber') just had 'By Royal Appointment' on the tangs.

George IIIs reign saw many shaving related events, though, such as:

• final dissolution of the barber-surgeons (started by George II),
• William Truefitt (of Truefitt & Hill fame) appointed as Royal wigmaker and hairdresser,
• the founding of Kent brand shaving brushes,
• the employment in the Royal Household of John Joseph Mechi, later of the 'Magic Razor Strop' fame,
• appointment of Benjamin Kingsbury (writer of the Treatise on Razors) as Royal Barber,

Of course, he was famous for other things, too - such as victory in the Napoleonic Wars, becoming mad and dying insane (he spoke complete nonsense for 58 hours non-stop once - I often emulate that on a shorter timescale after having imbibed too much refreshment!) and being known as both "The Mad King" and more pertinent to this forum "The King Who Lost America". For the last ten years of his life he didn't reign - his eldest son George ruled as Prince Regent before becoming George IV on his fathers death. Getting back to razors, several commentators of the time marveled at how one of his doctors allowed him to shave himself with a straight razor - while permanently insane and close to the end of his life.

Regards,
Neil