1956 Old Spice

[DaltonGang]

About 6 months ago, my wife's family were in town, and my brother in law wanted to get into DE shaving. I had set him up with some stuff and we went out looking in an antique store. He found a Gillette Red Tip, an old spice mug and a bottle of old spice.
I found an old looking Old Spice bottle. It was $8, but full. I was curious, as to the age. I looked at some sites, to date the bottle. It is a 1956 model, with no wear or damage, and full. I just got around to using it. Fantastic scent. The wife likes it, and it reminds me of my grandfather's scent, from long ago.
I have smelled the old spice in stores, and they smell nothing like this 1956 scent. I like the old scent, I don't like the new scent.

Where can you find the original scent? I heard the might still make it, somewhere.

 

[mgbbrown]

Dalton Gang; I would be interested in seeing a photo of the bottle, as it is probably a pressed glass bottle with an early plastic stopper produced by the Wheaton Glass Company of Millville, New Jersey. Great find! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[DaltonGang]

It's late. I will get a photo posted tomorrow. From what I read, it has what's called a #3 stopper. Looked exactly like photos I have seen of a 1956 model. What angles do you need, and do you need the writing on the bottom?

 

[yakster]

Where can you find the original scent? I heard the might still make it, somewhere.

From this old thread, it appears, at least then, that you can find the Shulton version of Old Spice in India and that West Coast Shaving carries this formulation. The thread also concludes that the Vijon Spice version is closer to the original than the current Procter and Gamble version.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/279212-Will-the-real-quot-Old-Spice-quot-please-stand-up

I've only tried the Old Spice that came in an 80's Shulton Old Spice bottle I purchased from an auction site, not the Vijon variants or the current P & G formulation. Congratulations on your find.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you for your reply and response Dalton Gang! I would photograph the overall bottle; a close view of the stopper and base molding details, and of course the Old Spice logo and ship. As a new vintage double- edge shaver and general Luddite, I have held an interest in such as this for quite some time- the period shaving culture is fascinating to me! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[TheVez2]

If you want all the great Shulton scent look for some vintage Avon Spicy. Yeah, it's a vintage product, but it is very plentiful and you can almost always find some Avon at antique stores, thrift stores, or garage sales. Since it's so plentiful, you can usually find it for cheap. The Scent "Spicy" is a clone of the Shulton OS scent, and it's very close. I had my kids do a scent test of Vintage Shulton OS, Avon Spicy and modern P&G OS. They said the two OS smelled nothing alike and that the Avon was a perfect match for the Shulton. I agree. And as close as Spicy is to Schulton, there's another Avon scent out there that's even closer. "Brisk Spice", but it is much harder to find.

 

[DaltonGang]

Here are three views. Showing all area. This is the best my old camera can do. But, If you are able to zoom in, the details show up somewhat clearly. BTW, when I awoke, I still had a nice smell, of the Old Spice, on the face and neck. So says the wife. Good stuff.

 

[TheVez2]

View attachment 577964

I think that bottle left a mark on your table. Eek!

 

[DaltonGang]

Just a reflection. If it did, no worry, at least it would smell good.

 

[BSAGuy]

Congrats on the score. Nothing like vintage Old Spice.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thanks for the pictures Dalton Gang! The bottle is in fantastic shape with superb graphics! I just purchased a new Nikon digital camera (I finally wore out a Cannon) taking vintage slot car and MGB restoration photos, so I will inaugurate it with photographs of my early post World War Two shaving gear in the next few days, and share them on the Badger and Blade site. I have yet to find an Old Spice bottle with an age relative to my two early Gillette Super Speeds- but I now have a benchmark as to what to expect in terms of quality! It would be nice to find an excellent bottle and be able to cheat a bit by filling it up with a more current and readily available after shave- at least have the trappings of a period Old Spice! Tongue and cheek here, but I bet a few folks have tried it! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[DaltonGang]

Its been a while, approx 6 months, but when I go back to that particular antique shop, I will look to see if they have more. At the time, they had several bottles, older than mine, and several shaving mugs, quite old. They ranged from $8-$30. Some of the mugs were quite old too. I was just not into that stuff, at the time. I was intrigued by the bottle being full. My brother-in-law bought a bottle that was about 1/3 full, but it was a newer model. I find interesting things there, from time to time.
The best thing I found there was a Barbasol Floating Head Razor, for $5.95. I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it was heavy, looked nice, and it was old. I didnt know a Barbasol from a Merkur, at that time.

 

[Musikmann]

Thanks for the photos DaltonGang. I can't make anything out on the bottom of the bottle, can you kindly type what it says?

 

[DaltonGang]

On the bottom of the bottle.

Old Spice. (On the top)
6. (In the center)
REG. US. PAT. OFF. (on the bottom)

 

[JerYnkFan]

Very cool although it does make me kinda sad that a lot of these vintages after shaves were made in NJ and now the companies are all gone with the exception of Dana which took over British Sterling, English Leather and Canoe.

 

[jcs266]

I love vintage Old Spice items! I agree, the original old blend is fantastic. The modern "Old Spice" is a pretender and just not the same. I have a set of Cologne / Aftershave from that same period (this pattern was used from 1956 thru about 1966). Shown here with my paternal Grandfather's 1950's shaving brush.

The shaving mug I use to load my brush is a 1948 to early 50's era mug.

My every day use OS bottle is a 1980's vintage bottle that I decant ViJon "Old Spice" into. It's relatively close to the old original OS and at $2 for a 7 oz bottle it's definitely close enough.

This site is very interesting and shows the various vintage OS bottles and mugs as they changed over the years since OS began in 1938.
http://www.oldspicecollectibles.com/Bottles/traditional bottles.html

I'd love to see older vintage OS items that others here have if you can post pics?

Great thread DG!

 

[DaltonGang]

From this old thread, it appears, at least then, that you can find the Shulton version of Old Spice in India and that West Coast Shaving carries this formulation. The thread also concludes that the Vijon Spice version is closer to the original than the current Procter and Gamble version.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/279212-Will-the-real-quot-Old-Spice-quot-please-stand-up

I've only tried the Old Spice that came in an 80's Shulton Old Spice bottle I purchased from an auction site, not the Vijon variants or the current P & G formulation. Congratulations on your find.

I just did a comparison with Family Dollars Old Spice knockoff. Worth reading.

 

[Musikmann]

On the bottom of the bottle.

Old Spice. (On the top)
6. (In the center)
REG. US. PAT. OFF. (on the bottom)

Thanks much!

 

[Musikmann]

The one I discovered, and didn't know I had, is from the '80s and has the type 4 cap. I mentioned elsewhere my mother gave me Dad's colognes and aftershaves and this must have been one of them. I wish the cologne I have was the vintage but I checked and it's not. Neither is the alcohol-free sensitive aftershave but I don't think Shulton ever made that anyway.

 

[DaltonGang]

So, anything about my bottle that you have found out? Other than it's old? What does the #6 on he bottom mean?