After I joined B&B I became very interested in reading and learning about the history of shaving. When I started shaving as a teenager it was considered a chore. For me, it was the Gillette razors and blades, some soap or cream, and a wooden handle shaving brush I bought at the local pharmacy. My first real exposure to "luxury shaving" came when I worked in NYC and found a few stores such as Hoffritz, Cambridge, Bigelow, and later Pasteur's that sold a variety of shaving goods. However, all of these stores had modern shaving materials.
When I traveled when I had the time I would stop in flea markets. However, other than some old razors and a few brushes there was not much there. On one of my trips to Washington DC I stopped into the Smithsonian Museum to see what they had. At the time the collection was on the small side and some of the goods were not displayed correctly. In fact, I wrote a letter to the museum telling them that their display of the three-piece razor was not assembled correctly since the baseplate was mounted the wrong way.
Many years went by and one day I discovered B&B. Eventually, while on B&B I learned that the National Shaving and Barbershop Museum closed, and its entire stock of shaving paraphernalia was put on sale. I never had the opportunity to see that museum but you can read about it here.
A few months ago I learned about a few more paces.
One is in Milan, Italy. The G. Lorenzi Collezione, was started in the 1930s by Giovanni Lorenzi, founder of a grooming shop located on via Montenapoleone. The Museum contains a systematic collection of nearly 4,500 razors and related items, originating from all over the world.
Finally, I came across an interesting old-time barber who has an incredible collection located in his shop. The name of the place is Mr. Cotton's Shaving Parlor and it is located in Whittier CA. They have a Facebook page but if you go to the website mentioned on the page you are misdirected to a bodybuilding site. There area also a few good youtube videos of the shop including this one.
Have any of you B&Bers come across similar shops, museums, etc?
When I traveled when I had the time I would stop in flea markets. However, other than some old razors and a few brushes there was not much there. On one of my trips to Washington DC I stopped into the Smithsonian Museum to see what they had. At the time the collection was on the small side and some of the goods were not displayed correctly. In fact, I wrote a letter to the museum telling them that their display of the three-piece razor was not assembled correctly since the baseplate was mounted the wrong way.
Many years went by and one day I discovered B&B. Eventually, while on B&B I learned that the National Shaving and Barbershop Museum closed, and its entire stock of shaving paraphernalia was put on sale. I never had the opportunity to see that museum but you can read about it here.
National Shaving and Barbershop Museum (Closed)
www.ctmq.org
A few months ago I learned about a few more paces.
One is in Milan, Italy. The G. Lorenzi Collezione, was started in the 1930s by Giovanni Lorenzi, founder of a grooming shop located on via Montenapoleone. The Museum contains a systematic collection of nearly 4,500 razors and related items, originating from all over the world.
G. Lorenzi - 1929 Coltellinaio -
www.lorenzi.it
Finally, I came across an interesting old-time barber who has an incredible collection located in his shop. The name of the place is Mr. Cotton's Shaving Parlor and it is located in Whittier CA. They have a Facebook page but if you go to the website mentioned on the page you are misdirected to a bodybuilding site. There area also a few good youtube videos of the shop including this one.
Have any of you B&Bers come across similar shops, museums, etc?
