So I was down at Universal Studios Orlando, and was walking through the old Hollywood area with all the shops when I saw the vintage Walgreens store they have on display. You can't go in, but the windows display a lot of old timey medicines and products as well as a little barber goods area. Among these were a shaving brush, some aftershaves, a barbicide jar, and a shaving mug that I didn't recognize. I snapped a picture of it so I could look it up when I got home, but alas I cannot find anything about it. It reads "Carlson's Mug Shaving Soap" and looks pretty authentic. It could EASILY just be a made up display piece they had someone make, but I'm curious nonetheless to see if it's actually a vintage product that is lost to time. I will attach a picture of the mug to this thread, if anyone knows anything about it — or wether it's just a prop— please let me know! Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any tips
Help Identify this Shaving Mug?
- Thread starter Robbie7
- Start date
Hey, that's pretty neat. Never heard of the brand. The cup looks like one of those metal cups that I have in my camping kit for coffee with a percolator. Not really conducive for making a lather because they're too tall- and the "clink-clink" on the metal would drive me nuts. 
A quick Google search shows a company named Carlson that makes soaps, but it doesn't really match up here. An interesting hit, though, was for an Ebay link for a 1954 soapbox derby car that was labeled Carlson's Pharmacy. Couldn't find a thing about Carlson's Pharmacy at all, unfortunately, that would fit the time period of the 1950's.
A quick Google search shows a company named Carlson that makes soaps, but it doesn't really match up here. An interesting hit, though, was for an Ebay link for a 1954 soapbox derby car that was labeled Carlson's Pharmacy. Couldn't find a thing about Carlson's Pharmacy at all, unfortunately, that would fit the time period of the 1950's.
It might be for the company that makes the Williams Mug Shaving soap--an excellent product if you can find it.
- Thread starter
- #4
Hmmm, interesting. The rabbit hole goes deeper nowHey, that's pretty neat. Never heard of the brand. The cup looks like one of those metal cups that I have in my camping kit for coffee with a percolator. Not really conducive for making a lather because they're too tall- and the "clink-clink" on the metal would drive me nuts.
A quick Google search shows a company named Carlson that makes soaps, but it doesn't really match up here. An interesting hit, though, was for an Ebay link for a 1954 soapbox derby car that was labeled Carlson's Pharmacy. Couldn't find a thing about Carlson's Pharmacy at all, unfortunately, that would fit the time period of the 1950's.
I'm interested to see if someone out there can draw a line connecting some of these things
I'm guessing it is just a made-up prop intended to give the display an air of authenticity. If Carlson's Soap really existed, it would be difficult to hide from the all-seeing Alphabet.
^Agree with above; doubt it's vintage any earlier than 2020!
ERS4
My exploding razor knows secrets
It's just a generic contemporary made enamel mug with all sorts of ridiculous patterns printed on it to pretend it's vintage.
Often used as coffee mugs, camping mugs.
We were even able to find a cup with a toilet suction cup printed on it, proving that the pattern on the cup is complete nonsense.
Often used as coffee mugs, camping mugs.
We were even able to find a cup with a toilet suction cup printed on it, proving that the pattern on the cup is complete nonsense.
$620; $450; $350 ???
Even that one for $22 is just too much
Even that one for $22 is just too much
ERS4
My exploding razor knows secrets
I live in Taiwan, 1 US dollar is equal to 30 Taiwan dollars, and Google will automatically mark it as the local price.
This also allows us to see that many products on the Internet will use the name of "retro" to abduct people to pay expensive banknotes; even if they are printed with toilet suction , some people may buy them.
Ok. I agree, nowdays they slap retro on anything, for 95% of people DE razor is retro, even if it was produced a month ago
BTW I din't know that Taiwan money is dollar, you learn something new every day
A friend has an antique shop for the past 35 years, last time we talked was about this very subject. There is a whole industry pumping out modern relics and some parts of it do try to be deceptive. Personally, I have little interest in items made to look retro unless it’s very functional, but hey if it sells….
Reminds me of a store the town historian where i live now told of a man back in the 70s who bought a new Lincoln every year from money he made from making "authentic" native american arrowheads and selling them all over the US.
- Thread starter
- #14
It was a short lived mystery that's for sure, but it was worth asking on the off chance it ended up having a cool conclusion. I definitely think you all are right that's it's just a made up mug, didn't realize there were so many variations of fake vintage mugs out there. Thank you all for the replies though! Now onto my newfound, desperate need to procure a shaving mug with a toilet plunger on it....
If its any consolation the rocks the arrowheads were made of are millions of years old.
- Thread starter
- #17
Just to add onto this thread, does anyone know if these Williams Shaving mugs were an original thing made my combe and released with the soap? Or is this just a new product someone is making and marketing as vintage as well? I love Williams Mug soap but have never seen these
I believe it is the real deal. That one is Canadian, so not as many were made as the USA model. Given that they were promotional, not sold as a standard package like Old Spice mugs, Williams Mugs will be 'harder' to find, not that anything is too hard to find on the web.
I doubt that they are popular enough to counterfeit. Tall as the mug is, it probably held more coffee than soap. Old Spice mugs got shorter and wider as shavers got more demanding about the lathering function.
That blanket looks vintage AND fuzzy....
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