Election memorabilia, straight razor from the presidential election race of 1900

[elmerwood]

I don't think I've shared this item yet, but with this years presidential race soon approaching I thought I'd post a few pics of a straight razor in my collection. I bought this in a small lot about 6 months ago and its i not in bad shape for being 112 years old. It looks to be made by Imperial Razor, and has both the presidential nominee (William McKinley) and vice president nominee (Theodore Roosevelt) etched on the blade. The box has no ends on it any longer but does boast a picture of both men on the front and the original price tag of $3.00. Just thought I'd share this awesome razor with all my friends here on B&B. Sorry if its hard to see the pictures but shooting a good picture capturing the engraving is hard.

 

[Prince]

Very nice. Nowadays, all you see are t-shirts and bumper stickers.

 

[trick420]

That's awesome... You should hone it up and shave with it. My imperial 6/8 square point is an absolutely phenomenal shaver.

 

[elmerwood]

That's awesome... You should hone it up and shave with it. My imperial 6/8 square point is an absolutely phenomenal shaver.

I haven't tried shaving with straights yet, and I don't want to damage the etching.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

That's awesome! I'm a sucker or this kind of realia.

 

[smalltank]

I had my 1st razor restored..family heirloom..had gold with rust on it..everything had to go..though the makers info stayed 100% in tact...

 

[mycarver]

That is a very cool blade. I love it.

 

[KindestCutofAll]

Nice find. I'm envious.

That is a great display piece.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Well if you need it restored I have sent a number of straights to a fellow who has also weighed in on this thread. MyCarver does museum quality work restoring items and has a gift that is well known here. The bonus is he is a great guy to do business with.

 

[tomjr]

WOW !! i love that kind of stuff. great find.

 

[Galengwath]

I am extremely envious as well. I wrote my masters thesis about that election and would love to run across something like that.

 

[trick420]

I haven't tried shaving with straights yet, and I don't want to damage the etching.

Honing it to shave won't touch the etch. You should send it to mycarver for a restore though - he's a genious with restoring razors, and he'll make that etch pop.

 

[elmerwood]

It truly is a thing of beauty on both looks and a historical level for me. Would having it cleaned up damage the etching on the blade. If so there is no way I would want it done. I wish it was just a little cleaner so you could see the detail of their portraits.

 

[Galengwath]

Depends on the condition of the blade. I wouod guess that a lot of that wouod clean up nicely without damaging the engraving, if it was done carefully by an experienced restorer.

 

[djm]

That is a beauty. Somebody spent a fair chunk of change when you consider that it would have been gold and silver spent to purchase that $3 item a century back. Thanks for sharing it...

 

[JHCC]

If you do end up getting it restored (even if it's just a cosmetic restoration to clean up the blade surface, without actual honing of the edge), make sure to post pictures!

 

[Doc226]

Nice.

 

[dreaded_rust]

WOW
that is amazing!

 

[hotreds]

That is, in fact, awesome!