Gents, today I took delivery of a wonderful Kirby, Beard & Co razor from the 1920s or 1930s, a wonderful razor with a sea shell-type topcap and a unique sculpted handle.
The Kirbys are often referred to as ‘art deco’ in its design style, and looking at it inspired me to compare it to a few other same-age razors which were similarly sculpted a bit out of the ordinary, in handle or in head/comb design, probably also fitting the art deco moniker well.
A fast definition of ‘art deco’ on Wikipedia presented the description at the end of this post. Importantly Art Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles all united by a desire to be modern. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. American skyscrapers marked the summit of the Art Deco style: The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are such monuments of the style.
On the razor front it seems that the 1920s and 1930s presented several such razors clearly made with an artistic starting point, and not just ”sticking a round handle into a square baseplate”.
A few razor examples
The pictured 5 razors: Kirby Beard, Bohin, Eclipse Red Ring, Shavex Zee-Kol and Darwin Original all present very intricate and unique designs, flamboyant even. And they work really well too as shaving tools! All have great grip and provide a wonderful mild but efficient shave.
Hope you enjoy the pics — and even more that you will all share other examples of what you have in terms of similar art deco designs. I would love to collect your pictures. Maybe one of you will present the Italian Mirabilia razor, another superb art deco design, which remains on my bucket list of razors to get.
Quote from Wikipedia:
Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship.
Art Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles, all united by a desire to be modern. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art.
The Kirbys are often referred to as ‘art deco’ in its design style, and looking at it inspired me to compare it to a few other same-age razors which were similarly sculpted a bit out of the ordinary, in handle or in head/comb design, probably also fitting the art deco moniker well.
A fast definition of ‘art deco’ on Wikipedia presented the description at the end of this post. Importantly Art Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles all united by a desire to be modern. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. American skyscrapers marked the summit of the Art Deco style: The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are such monuments of the style.
On the razor front it seems that the 1920s and 1930s presented several such razors clearly made with an artistic starting point, and not just ”sticking a round handle into a square baseplate”.
A few razor examples
The pictured 5 razors: Kirby Beard, Bohin, Eclipse Red Ring, Shavex Zee-Kol and Darwin Original all present very intricate and unique designs, flamboyant even. And they work really well too as shaving tools! All have great grip and provide a wonderful mild but efficient shave.
Hope you enjoy the pics — and even more that you will all share other examples of what you have in terms of similar art deco designs. I would love to collect your pictures. Maybe one of you will present the Italian Mirabilia razor, another superb art deco design, which remains on my bucket list of razors to get.
Quote from Wikipedia:
Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship.
Art Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles, all united by a desire to be modern. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art.