Lately I’ve been on a Autostrop jag. I’ve talked about a film that features how to look after the Valet, an early animated store display, a 1920’s two page ad, and a 1944 non-advertisement on how to look after your strop. Today I stumbled over another piece of Valet / AutoStrop history; the Wall Kit.

The wall kit came with everything you needed. A razor, some blades, a strop, and a wall mount.

Seems like a neat and inexpensive shaving solution. A mere 0.98 US dollars in 1942 is roughly the equivalent to 17.80 US dollars today. About what I would pay for a modern plastic horror with one spare blade at my local supermarket. Less than I would pay to have pizza delivered. Cheap, I think, at twice the price. Quite literally half what the cheapest Valet Wall Kit are sold for on fleaBay.

The Art Deco style Wall Kit would look good on any bathroom wall. The strop folds up when not in use and has a little pocket to sit in. Gravity – which keeps us all down – holds the razor in place, and the handle helps secure the strop. Under the holder for the razor is a small hook, which I assume was to hook the strop onto when it was used.

I have been wanting a Valet AutoStrop razor for some time. But now I know which kit I would like if I can’t get an AutoStrop Khaki Kit. The 1942 kit would look grat on my bathroom wall, and wouldn’t take up a slot on the already packed razor shelf. It also seems to have come in several colours, so with a bit of luck I can find one that don’t clash too badly with the rest of the décor.