Museum & Research Library Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 11am-5pm.
Shaving Kit
Director
Matthew Braun talks with Morning Report host, Casey Stevens about
artifacts from the collections on WHCU 870AM, Thursday mornings at 9:45.
Shaving mug, straight razor, and combination strop & hone.
Shaving
mugs were in vogue from around 1865 to 1920. Blank mugs were imported
into the United States and later customized. The mug pictured here has
the simplest of mug decoration, gold trim with the name in gold as
well. Before World War I, many people would have mugs painted with
their occupation and/or fraternal affiliation. These mugs cost
considerably more than the gold-trimmed mugs and were a symbol of
status. The mug pictured was donated by William Wilkinson and is dated
to the 1890s.
The long history of the shaving razor began during prehistoric times when shaving blades were made from pieces of flint. The first "modern" or metal blades were developed in the 3rd millennium B.C. in India and in Egypt. Straight razors were popular up until World War I when Gillette introduced the safety razor. Safety razors were patented before that time, but Gillette popularized their use.
Razors used at home varied quite a bit in materials used for the handles. The razor pictured here is made of ivory with decorative carvings of trees, a monkey eating a piece of fruit, and a dog lying down with a dish by its feet. Handles would also have been made of celluloid (an early plastic), tortoise shell, and mother-of-pearl. This razor was donated by Harry Hamilton and used by a Dr. Crosby probably around the turn of the 20th Century.
Razors needed to be sharpened on a daily basis. To sharpen the razor every barber and gentleman would have had a strop and/or hone. Strops are made from leather, while hones are usually made of stone. The combination strop and hone pictured here was manufactured by Copeland, Hall and Co., Rochester, NY, and patented in 1878. Directions for use on the box reads: "Should the razor be very dull use [side] No. 1, first rubbing a little tallow over it [the blade], then [use sides] 2 and 3 finishing on 4 but in ordinary cases 3 and 4 are sufficient to secure a very fine edge." The strop was donated by Mrs. Viola McWorter.
Sources: Scroeder's Antiques Price Guide 2001; Ancient Inventions, by Peter James and Nick Thrope.
Past Objects:
Dennison's Jewelry Cleaning Casket
Ithaca Calendar Clock Patent Model
Indian Clubs
Passenger Pigeon Net
Steamship Frontenac Belaying Pin
Paint Box of W.C. Baker
Amber Candy Dish