Antique Finds Today (And Questions Regarding Them)

[Tat2d Bald Dude]

So, on the heels of my recent thread, asking what the chances would be of finding wet-shaving items at antique venues in my wife's hometown this weekend, I spotted 3 items today, none of which I got unfortunately, but still some interesting stories along with them.

1. My wife, her mom and I went to a Harvest Festival in their hometown this morning and at the very first booth I stopped at, a older man is setting up his booth and what do I see? An Old Type Gillette in the case. The razor looked to be in good condition, but the case was kind of grungy. The guy wanted $20 for it, but the wife rejected my plea. Was that a good price or was it not that great of a deal? And are the old types difficult to find or not really?

2. We later stopped into some antique stores in town and in one of the display cases in one store, I spotted a pair of vintage shaving mugs that had "Doctor" and "Pharmacist" listed on them. I remember reading something about these in another thread on here. They were $95 each. Would this have been a great find or are they not that difficult/rare to find?

3. When we returned to my in-laws', my wife showed me some of their antiques in their old family room. My father-in-law has a vintage shaving mug that is a white porcellin-looking insert that sits into a stainless steel mug and has a long, vintage shaving brush with a steel/metal handle on it. I couldn't manage to snap a picture of it this time, but he explained that the mug was his Grandpa's Brother's mug (so, my FIL's Great Uncle's mug). From the sounds of the description, does this sound to be a great find or is it yet another one that probably wouldn't be too difficult/rare to find?

 

[donkennison]

When in doubt , but in true lust-BUY IT! Just don't let the wife see or know about it.

 

[Tat2d Bald Dude]

When in doubt , but in true lust-BUY IT! Just don't let the wife see or know about it.

Well, see, that's the thing that I had working against me. With being out of work right now, the wife wasn't too keen on me buying an old razor for $20. I mean, if I would've begged enough, I'm sure I could have convinced her, but she busted out the "Yeah, but would you actually USE it or would it just sit on a shelf and collect dust?". And there is no way on earth she would've let me buy either of those shaving mugs for $95. But I'm sure I'll probably wind up with her dad's old shaving mug that I described.

 

[Hoos]

So, on the heels of my recent thread, asking what the chances would be of finding wet-shaving items at antique venues in my wife's hometown this weekend, I spotted 3 items today, none of which I got unfortunately, but still some interesting stories along with them.

1. My wife, her mom and I went to a Harvest Festival in their hometown this morning and at the very first booth I stopped at, a older man is setting up his booth and what do I see? An Old Type Gillette in the case. The razor looked to be in good condition, but the case was kind of grungy. The guy wanted $20 for it, but the wife rejected my plea. Was that a good price or was it not that great of a deal? And are the old types difficult to find or not really?

The Old Type Gillettes are not uncommon. Maybe a little harder to find than a Superspeed, but they're not rare. "Old Type" covers a lot of territory though. $20 could have been a great price for something; or it could have been an OK price.

2. We later stopped into some antique stores in town and in one of the display cases in one store, I spotted a pair of vintage shaving mugs that had "Doctor" and "Pharmacist" listed on them. I remember reading something about these in another thread on here. They were $95 each. Would this have been a great find or are they not that difficult/rare to find?

This is IMHO not a shaving question (not being snarky either). A lot of older porcelain and ceramic items are being reproduced today and sold for outrageous prices. Usually, a real shaving mug from a barbershop would have had the customer's name on it - not just their profession. It takes someone who really knows porcelain and ceramic antiques to determine if they're authentic. And, authentic or not, I wouldn't have paid $95 for one. I see these periodically too. IMHO, they don't serve much purpose beyond decoration for the den.

3. When we returned to my in-laws', my wife showed me some of their antiques in their old family room. My father-in-law has a vintage shaving mug that is a white porcellin-looking insert that sits into a stainless steel mug and has a long, vintage shaving brush with a steel/metal handle on it. I couldn't manage to snap a picture of it this time, but he explained that the mug was his Grandpa's Brother's mug (so, my FIL's Great Uncle's mug). From the sounds of the description, does this sound to be a great find or is it yet another one that probably wouldn't be too difficult/rare to find?

Simply because of the family ties, it is rare. And I'd recommend keeping it in the family if at all possible. It sounds like a traveling shave mug, but without pictures it's hard to say. As far as the brush, I've seen a number of brushes with metal handles that are usually pewter and, occasionally, sterling silver.