The gift he would choose himself. At least if this Australian 1950 advertisement is to be believed.
Continue readingCategory Archives: History
Improvements in cakes of shaving soaps.
In the same year George Schmidt patented his shaving brush container, William Edward Lake secured a patent on behalf of the Colgate Company for an improvements in cakes of shaving soaps. An improvement that, if the claims are taken at face value, would make the cakes of soaps more secure both in shipment and in the shaving mug.
Continue readingSchmidt’s shaving brush container
Continuing on the theme of antiseptic and hygienic shaving brushes, today we have George A Schmidt’s shaving brush container. Schmidt held several patents, most of them on soap dispensers. So it is perhaps not a big surprise that his shaving brush container was also meant to contain some of his own antiseptic soap.
Continue readingAntiseptic shaving brush
Antiseptic – like hygienic, sanitary, aseptic, and disposable – is a word that keeps popping up in patent descriptions of shaving gear. This seem to have been especially prevalent in the first half of the last century, before the discovery of penicillin and other effective antibiotics made a cut or a nick more of a nuisance than a real threat to life and health. Today’s patent for an antiseptic shaving brush was filed by Aron Braunstein and Angel Rattiner back in early 1905.
Continue readingOut with the new, in with the old
Continue readingWe’ve made a art of this horology
Abney Park, Throw them overboard
To the point of a new theology
I say to hell with modern technology
And we embrace analog mythology!
IS 11026 – Razor Hone
We’ve previously looked at the Indian Standards for shaving creams, shaving brushes, safety razors, and razor blades. So it makes perfect sense to have a standard for hones too, since not everyone uses safety razors and replaceable blades. Hence why IS 11026 exists, and why I just had to show it of once I spotted it.
Continue readingReminder: Thanksgiving giveaway
Just a reminder that today is the day for the Thanksgiving Giveaway!
Two kindle books for free. Only today – all you need to do is to download them from Amazon.
For links to the books, look no further than this page.
But I don’t want to go home…
There are some advertisements that would simply not fly today. Like this GEM advertisement from the war years.
Continue reading2023 Thanksgiving giveaway!
Thanksgiving is soon upon us – well, upon the people living in the US at least. And for no good reason at all I figured that a Thanksgiving giveaway was just the thing.
Continue readingBlood
The traditional barber’s pole is white and red. White for lather, and red for blood – the blue you see on American barber’s poles is a fairly new aberration. These colours, along with a washbasin on top of the pole and one on the bottom, advertised the barber’s trade. Or, perhaps more correctly, the barber-surgeon’s trade.
A university educated doctor wouldn’t sully his hands with blood, gore, and poor people. So a barber, who already had sharp blades and a hopefully steady hand, would double as a surgeon for those little things that needed doing to a body.
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