When you say post card, you usually think of something vivid and touristy that you’ll mail of to distant relatives when you’re on vacation. But a post card is – when you come down to it – just a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard that you write upon and send in the mail with no envelope. No one ever said it had to include the words “wish you were here” on the back.

For those who wonder what post cards have to do with shaving; at one point AutoStrop decided that post cards were a great – and inexpensive – way to have merchants order stock. A post card could be sent for just two cents between 1917 and 1958, which was half of what a letter cost to send.

The merchant would simply make notes on the front what he needed to restock. He could also mark off if he needed a new window display, envelopes, catalogues, and even electrotypes (print plates) for advertainments.

The merchant should also indicate if he wanted all the wares shipped directly to his shop, or through a wholesaler – or ‘jobber’, as the card puts it.

The card don’t have a date marked, but the two razors mentioned – the Golden Ace and the Eldorado – were both advertised in the mid twenties. The nineteen twenties, that is – so about a century ago. It would make sense for this post card to be from the same timeframe.

The card also helpfully points out that the merchant should advertise locally. And, perhaps less helpfully for the merchant operating on thin margins, that he should lay in ample stock of razors, blades and strops.