1956 Serial Toggle Nickel Plated

[TexLaw]

Never mind, I'm in.

All of them are the RARE nickel-chrome-gold-copper-plated Gillette(?) New Old-Style Red Black Toggle Regus Fat Milford Beauty Super Slim Speed Dot Boy w/ Case & NOS blades (!!!NICE!!!)

Put the phone down, Glenn, and send me my Red Tip.

 

[patten1969]

I would prefer the Toggle if I win, okay?

 

[GlennConti]

Never mind, I'm in.

All of them are the RARE nickel-chrome-gold-copper-plated Gillette(?) New Old-Style Red Black Toggle Regus Fat Milford Beauty Super Slim Speed Dot Boy w/ Case & NOS blades (!!!NICE!!!)

Put the phone down, Glenn, and send me my Red Tip.

Lol, Believe it or not one of them is Rhodium plated.

 

[GlennConti]

I would prefer the Toggle if I win, okay?

I'm too attached to that baby. She's brand new (to me).

 

[LONG BEACH]

Cool Idea. Glenn. On another subject..If any BB Member knows someone or has old magazine collections, lets look into the possibility that late 1955 a lone ad may have ran somewhere for the Serial toggle in the 2 Leather cases set. If so that would be a great discovery and great in a collection and document some history to wiki. I found the complete Minty 2 page ad for the D-1 Toggle set and will have it framed and the story to follow. I think Saturday evening post magazines and Esquire magazines are good starts. As for ad's of the D-1 those are rare it seems and found out some 1957 Esquires did not have the ad in Dec and some did just as a side note. The Hunt is on!!

 

[TexLaw]

Lol, Believe it or not one of them is Rhodium plated.

But, of course. Wouldn't you think I would've mentioned rhodium, otherwise? After all, I like to account for all reasonable possibilities.

 

[alex2363]

This is ad from 1957 (showing blue acrylic case and $10 price of the D-1/F4 Toggle type)

View attachment 549563

This is the blow up I did from the 1957 ad photo (showing the A-3 Toggle)

View attachment 549564

Note the ad photo contains an A-3 and the artist renditions in the ad show a D-1. My theory is the D-1 had not been manufactured yet when the ad artwork was needed by the magazine and this is why an A-3 photo was used. Further even though Gillette went to great expense to advertise and launch the D-1 for Christmas 1957, they missed the launch.



http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2007/01/esquire200701

For the first time since Hayes had taken over the magazine, Esquire’s three-month lead time looked like it might become a liability. The January issue was at the printers, which meant that photos and text made inaccurate or tasteless by the assassination had to be literally blacked out of copies that hadn’t already shipped. It was too late, however, to remove Kennedy’s picture from the Dubious Achievement–themed montage cover. Worst of all, the magazine would not be able to weigh in on Kennedy’s death until 1964. Its coverage would have to be original.

Very good observations, fine intense research too.

 

[GlennConti]

Very good observations, fine intense research too.

Thanks Alex. I would love to find an advertisement for an A-3 in 1955. That would be something.

 

[GlennConti]

I ended the Red Tip PIF and declared a winner. Find out more here.

 

[alex2363]

Thanks Alex. I would love to find an advertisement for an A-3 in 1955. That would be something.

Never say never.......

 

[GlennConti]

So I just resurrected this old thread. There is something that I was interested in for a while. Minor point but I wanted to make it.

What is wrong with the following photos?

This is how I received the razor from the seller on eBay:

This is how Cap received the razor:

This is how I got the razor back from Cap, compared to my Gold Serial Toggle:

Hmmm?...

More Hmmm?...

Seem strange to anyone else?

Does anyone have any theories?

 

[GlennConti]

Here is another photo to ponder: This is another Nickel Serial Toggle #2274:

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Someone popped the indent for the Dot on the wrong side of the piece, methinks.

But, it is difficult to assess in a photo, so I will PM you my address so you can send those to my Failure Analysis lab.

Stan

 

[GlennConti]

Hi,

Someone popped the indent for the Dot on the wrong side of the piece, methinks.

But, it is difficult to assess in a photo, so I will PM you my address so you can send those to my Failure Analysis lab.

Stan

Ha ha! Hey Stan... In the original photo of the razor as I bought it, the Toggle is not "square" with the head. Was this thing all twisted? I kind of recall the whole thing being loosely assembled when I got it. Cap performed a miracle resurrecting it. I have shaved with it and it works great now. So, the way Cap restored it, without the benefit of this other Nickel Serial Toggle photo, he had to guess which side to put the "Red Dot" side of the Toggle lever on. Notice also I had Cap inlay a some red paint where the indicator mark for the dial position. I think the other Nickel Toggle doesn't have that either. So, these are two things that I could have Cap change for me if I could do without the razor for a while. Think I have my assessment right?

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

I said going by photos was tough....I think I am seeing a shape difference in the toggle lever from one side to the other....as if that shape made for the lever travel and function....and so if the dot is on the wrong side, then it would flip 'backwards'.....

Hence my funny comment about needing to see both in-person for a proper evaluation.

But, of course, I may be seeing things from looking *too* hard at the photos. If the lever itself doesn't cause the half/full open operation, then simply putting it on reversed would cause the same effect. Dot on wrong side....

In any case, it does not take long to see where it looked like a wreck and now it looks grand!

Stan

 

[maybe smith]

Glenn,
Thank you for bringing this back. I was not here in 2015, so this has been a very interesting and informative read.
Also a tip of the hat to the Cap for a job well done.............

 

[GlennConti]

Someone has been in communication with me via my Gillette Adjustable website. He has apparently inherited from his grandfather, a Gillette employee, a vast treasure trove of razors in the neighborhood of 1,200 razors. His collection includes among other things cases for the 1-5 Bottom Dial prototype, a stack of NOS 1-5 Serial toggles and instructions sheets and materials heretofore never seen. I am not going to mention his name out of respect for his privacy. Stay tuned - some very exciting disclosures in the rare Gillette Adjustable world are going to be forthcoming I expect. He did want me to set the record straight. I had initially discarded the idea that Milwaukee Wisconsin could have been an important site for Gillette. Well, from two sources - the Gillette historian from P&G and from this person with the vast Gillette inheritance, Milwaukee was very important to Gillette. Apparently, the President of Gimbel's department stores was friends with the President of Gillette Safety Razor. Gimbel's was a major department store chain that was started in Milwaukee and grew to a 53 store chain capable of billions of today's dollars in sales. And, based on Milwaukee's metropolitan size (650,000) relative to the number of Gillette 1-5 Serial Toggles available (2800) for test marketing, Milwaukee was the perfect place to see how Gillette's new adjustable razor would fare. Here is an new excerpt from my website...

 

[Mark1966]

Someone has been in communication with me via my Gillette Adjustable website. He has apparently inherited from his grandfather, a Gillette employee, a vast treasure trove of razors in the neighborhood of 1,200 razors. His collection includes among other things cases for the 1-5 Bottom Dial prototype, a stack of NOS 1-5 Serial toggles and instructions sheets and materials heretofore never seen. I am not going to mention his name out of respect for his privacy. Stay tuned - some very exciting disclosures in the rare Gillette Adjustable world are going to be forthcoming I expect. He did want me to set the record straight. I had initially discarded the idea that Milwaukee Wisconsin could have been an important site for Gillette. Well, from two sources - the Gillette historian from P&G and from this person with the vast Gillette inheritance, Milwaukee was very important to Gillette. Apparently, the President of Gimbel's department stores was friends with the President of Gillette Safety Razor. Gimbel's was a major department store chain that was started in Milwaukee and grew to a 53 store chain capable of billions of today's dollars in sales. And, based on Milwaukee's metropolitan size (650,000) relative to the number of Gillette 1-5 Serial Toggles available (2800) for test marketing, Milwaukee was the perfect place to see how Gillette's new adjustable razor would fare. Here is an new excerpt from my website...

View attachment 785883

WOW - just WOW!

Seriously, would ANYBODY imagine that out there was somebody with 'a stack of NOS 1-5 Serial toggles'?

 

[Copierguy]

Fascinating.

 

[GlennConti]

I have requested photos. There is a very small outlier chance that a person knowledgeable about rare Gillettes could be perpetrating some sort of elaborate hoax. I don't think so and the heir has promised photos. With the "fake news" today you just have to be careful, but I wanted to break it as soon as possible.