My Summer Acquisitions

I've been away during the summer, but not away from the internet...

Here's some of my acquisitions and finds.

First up, from Germany, a very old 6-slot case. Based on the shape of the slots I'm guessing it comes from the early 1800s but I defer to higher authorities on the age. It came with the following Roberts razor, albeit heavily reground. A label inside the case says it was a travel set.

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Up next is a rather interesting razor marked [something] "IN LONDON". I'm not sure if it was a Sheffield maker with that stamp or something else, I haven't had time to research yet. The letters are actually stamped in relief, in reverse of the norm, and there is the same stamping on the spine. Again, I can't read the first word.

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Next, for Zak especially, is another Marsden Magnum Bonum (stamped on the spine). He's still working out exactly who this Marsden was. This one is massive, and I'm working on new scales for it.

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Up next another stubtail, this one stamped ROAN. A notch has been ground out of the blade for easier sharpening at some point.

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More continued below...

Part II.

A very interesting piece, an Irish razor from, presumably, the early 1800s. This one illustrates the dangers of using scale shape for dating - note how curved the scales are. The scales are tortoise with a silver endcap that is marked "1", so this was part of a set.

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Next up a $14 I couldn't pass up. It's been modified, but dates to early 1800s and is from the same company as one I already have - Harwood and Co.

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And a reground William Parker in wood scales:

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Continued below...

Part III - ivories.

Here's a cheapy E.A. Berg I got off of ebay. The scales are just about perfect.

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A C.T. Bingham late F. Fenney Tally Ho, with an unfortunately marred etching:

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A Richardson, out of Liverpool:

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And a G & J Morton of Cheapside, almost new.

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continued below...

And last, a Wostenholm 7-day set in ivory. This type has the changeable blades and, unusually, a full-size scale set. Two of the blades are missing, and all have been thoroughly reground, but it's still a nice set.

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That's all for now. I've still got some stragglers coming in, and I'm still working on my light box for better pictures, so probably more to come later.

As near as I can tell the Marsden family was made up entirely of rabbits. There were about six hundred thousand of them in Sheffield around 1800, and nearly all of them were gnawing on some variety of metal.

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I've seen one other razor stamped Millikin, Dublin. I recall that it was actually a London shop -- another general cutlery producer who made (or probably commissioned) razors and surgical implements. The other was also in tortoise shell, but not nearly as fancy, and the blade had been hideously reground and turned into a carbon steel toothpick.

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There's not really an unremarkable one in the lot! Bravo!