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Attachment 129864Attachment 129865Attachment 129866Attachment 129867Attachment 129868I have an old razor in rough condition . It has scales unfamiliar to me. I think they were cast of maybe shellac or something similar. The shank has CUVIER and A PARIS on it. It is small. The sacles have 13 stars, AMERICA, and a likeness of George Washingtonon one side and a likeness of Benjamin Franklin with LLD written above Franklin. If anyone can help shed light on the history of this razor please help.
It looks like the scales were made from pressed horn. The razor was probably not made during the American Revolution, judging from the shape of the blade. It was probably made in the early 1800's to commemorate the Revolutionary War. Are there any markings at all on the blade?
Regards - Walt
Sorry but I have no idea about it! The tang does look like it would be very old, and I know that Celluloid was in use many years later. The only very old scales that I've seen were made from common materials such as bone, horn, tortoise shell, wood etc. With that said, this should be a very interesting and informative post!
I thank you for posting!
I am certain they are not horn. They are a translucent amber color unlike any I have ever seen. On the tang is CUVIER. Underneath is A PARIS.
Nice artifact,sadly, do not think it can be resurected.JMO
"I have an old razor in rough condition . It has scales unfamiliar to me. I think they were cast of maybe shellac or something similar. The shank has CUVIER and A PARIS on it. It is small. The sacles have 13 stars, AMERICA, and a likeness of George Washingtonon one side and a likeness of Benjamin Franklin with LLD written above Franklin. If anyone can help shed light on the history of this razor please help."
I thinkmthat is George from Seinfeld...
Very interesting razor, Like Walt mentioned in his post, your razor was probably made around 1810 -1825.
Mr Cuvier, a cutler ( coutelier) from Paris name shows up in the commerce directory around those years.
Attachment 129875
I believe you will find that they are horn. If you look at your fourth photo the saw marks are clearly visible on the reverse side. Also, if you will Google "razor pressed horn" and select "images" you will see quite a few very similar scales. These scales were made be softening the horn and clamping it in a steel die to emboss the design into the horn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
Walt thank you for your help, but I have several pressed horn scales and these are not horn. They are very thin. Almost as thin as very thin ivory scales. The back side of the scales are perhaps worm eaten or dissolved as if heat and perhaps soap had dissolved them. I have cleaned the razor and scales and used hot water and hones to press the scales flat.When I make a little more progress I will repost. Thanks for your interest.
They're either horn or tortoise shell.Quote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
Many of the figural scales, outside of the design, were pressed very thin. Also, French scales from the early 1800's tended toward the very thin, even in horn.
What you're seeing on the back of that one scale is almost certainly someone's attempt to repair beetle damage with glue of some sort.
I respectfully disagree. Horn has layers to some degree. This has none. Perhaps tortoise. I have several old tortoise scaled razors an have yet to see a nearly clear one. Did they not cast anything back then? These look to be cast.
You are correct Voidmonster. They are tortoise. After cleaning a little more I can see some pigmentation in the scales. I still have no info about when they were made or for what purpose. Maybe commemorative.
although i have no info . i did enjoy seeing such a fine razor and its scales !!
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...1/IMG_8162.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
These are pressed horn, from around the same time. While this set is black, you can see that they're also very thin. About the same thickness as good ivory scales.
When it's been well preserved or restored, translucent horn can look quite remarkable.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...-Plummer02.jpg
(a razor that went through eBay, and sadly not to me)
It can also take on a very orange color from rust, especially in older blades. That can look somewhat like tortoise shell, as well as natural color variations in the horn.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...1/IMG_8187.jpg
As for the age of the razor, I agree with Walt and Martin. Most likely 1810-1825. I've seen several others with the revolutionary war motif. It was marketing, for the most part. Patriotic items sold well, so French and English cutlers made them. At the end of the war of 1812, some Sheffield cutlers were selling patriotic razors to America while the treaty ink was still drying.
The pressed horn and shell scales are interesting because they're rarely ever found (originally) on 'name brand' razors. I've seen far fewer French razors in them, so I don't really know the pattern there, but English razors tend very strongly to be either generic (WARRANTED, CAST STEEL, PATENT) or marked for a merchant (which is what I suspect TAYLOR's X.Q.SITE razors were).
There are a few counter-examples. Greaves & Sons had their simple 'SHEAF WORKS' pressed scales:
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...1/IMG_7883.jpg
John Barber made a fancy razor for Barbers with very elaborate pressed horn scales in the late 1820's:
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...erC1820_01.jpg
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...erC1820_04.jpg
(images from an online auction, these are not my pictures)
The front says "PARTICULARLY MADE FOR BARBERS" and the back claims the Masonic square & compass as his mark, surrounded by eagles holding arrows.
There were similar Wade & Butcher as well as a few others, but all of these are A) black horn and B) advertisements for the cutler first and foremost.
As far as I know, only Joseph Elliot made razors in scales that were purely patriotic.
http://theshiveringbeggar.com/wp-con...9/IMG_7408.jpg
Aside from that one, I also have one with NEW YORK scales, and the pile side says 'INDEPENDENCE' (I haven't gotten pictures of that one yet, sorry), plus I've seen one stamped BOSTON.
But all of these are fairly different from the early 1800's fad of figural scales, most all of which were fixed to generic blades.
I don't really know why that is, but my guess is that they were made primarily as an advertisement for the scale hafters who made them, and thus intended more for the attention of cutlers than shavers.
I'm pretty hard headed, but I think you are correct. I had never seen pressed scales this thin, but I have examined them more and I think they probably are pressed horn. I am going to try to resurect the razor. It has cleaned up nicely. The scales are going to require several much more attention, but I am going to try. Thank you for the help.
You're welcome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
