Thread: Mystery razor

Hi, Just wondering if anyone out there knows anything about this razor?

Sorry for the crappy picture, but my phone is the only thing available.
If it helps I'll take a better one.
The casing says: A.P.Lundborg, Worchester , Mass. Every blade hand forged & warranted.
The tang says V (something that looks like a crown) R.
The scales has a deer and the word progress.
Hope someone has better skills than me finding something on this razor, I couldn't find a thing.

I am guessing the case and the razor are mismatched. The razor stamp, the V crown R, signifies Victoria Regent, i.e. the reign of Queen Victoria. British, in other words, from 1837 and up to 1891, whereafter it would have an "england" stamp on it. I am pretty sure the tang says more than just the V crown R, is that a warranted mark I spy (with my little eye)?

Originally Posted by str8fencer

I am guessing the case and the razor are mismatched. The razor stamp, the V crown R, signifies Victoria Regent, i.e. the reign of Queen Victoria. British, in other words, from 1837 and up to 1891, whereafter it would have an "england" stamp on it. I am pretty sure the tang says more than just the V crown R, is that a warranted mark I spy (with my little eye)?

That would be Victoria Regina (Latin for Queen, as Rex is Latin for King). Regent is something completely different -- the designation given to George IV when he took over for his mentally ill father who remained, technically, king.

Also, they only had to have the 'England' stamp on them if they were made for export. So it technically could have been made up to her death in 1901.

In practice I rarely ever see VR stamps much beyond 1860, and that blade looks earlier than that to me.

I totally agree that it looks like there's also 'WARRANTED' next to the VR stamp.

The scales are probably a later addition, since they look like hardened rubber to me, but without a better picture it's difficult to be sure.

Short version: Definitely made during Queen Victoria's reign. Definitely not the razor that came in the box. Maybe not the razor that came in those scales. Definitely made after 1837, definitely before 1901, probably a LOT before 1901.

Could be a different blade, A P Lundborg was an importer/jeweller/typewriter seller/paper seller etc, etc, etc, so he would have imported the razors he sold from the UK. He was born in 1852, arrived in Worcester in 1889 and promptly opened his store:



The store was still trading in the 1920s as far as I know.

Seems to be a bit of a mystery concerning the emblem/logo on the scales. Are these like yours:









They appear with the same mark on the tang as on the scales, with a solingen makers name, with a boker name and also on imports by A. Field. Not impossible that some razors were re-scaled using these scales, though.

Some people here erroneously attribute this mark to J E Bleckmann of Solingen, Ronsdorf (along with incorrect dates) but this is not the Bleckmann mark, which is really a bow and arrow motif.

Regards,
Neil