Gillette Milady “Unicorn”???

[Ratpoison10]

Late last week I found a Gillette Milady razor for sale on Facebook Marketplace. I took a chance, hoping it was not some scam. I noticed it had end caps and assumed it to be a 1956 model. Mail call came today and I have been on the Internet ever since trying to do some research. This is my first Milady, but this one seems to have an Aristocrat Junior head with no notches and end caps. And the ’47 Aristocrat Junior “shoulder”. There is also no date code. The Pat Nos On Package is on the inside as well. In the past three hours, I have not seen any like this on the forums nor on Mr.Razor. It's never been used, It is pristine. Unfortunately, there is no case, but for $22 shipped I'm not complaining.

So I turn to the good people of B&B to see if anyone has seen another one like this.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Late last week I found a Gillette Milady razor for sale on Facebook Marketplace. I took a chance, hoping it was not some scam. I noticed it had end caps and assumed it to be a 1956 model. Mail call came today and I have been on the Internet ever since trying to do some research. This is my first Milady, but this one seems to have an Aristocrat Junior head with no notches and end caps. And the ’47 Aristocrat Junior “shoulder”. There is also no date code. The Pat Nos On Package is on the inside as well. In the past three hours, I have not seen any like this on the forums nor on Mr.Razor. It's never been used, It is pristine. Unfortunately, there is no case, but for $22 shipped I'm not complaining.

So I turn to the good people of B&B to see if anyone has seen another one like this.

My hunch is that is a 1947 Milady.

Here is the 1947 Milord. Unsure if adverts at the time can back this up that a '47 Milady existed.

Notice the similar head

All 3 would share a common head if it's a 1947 Milady, with this 47 Aristocrat Junior if this is the one you are referring to.

It would fit into a very narrow timeframe, 1946-7 given the features it has.

 

[Joezamboni]

You’ve got a bit of a hard one there, it really doesn’t help that it seems that there is a lack of info from that time (ads, etc) regarding these sets and the differences.

and that as stated, it looks to be in great shape.

I’ve look at old Worth Point listings and hunted them and haven’t seen a 1947 style, as Alum Ladd pointed out the Milords were common and easy to find.

In my hunt I‘ve also debated making a fake (not to pass off but to use) as if you have taps/dies it actually doesn’t seem hard to accomplish.

Ultimately someone with skilled eyes regarding replates and Gillette gold from that era and the Milady safety bar design would give a better opinion as to if it’s legitimate (Back roads gold for instance)

Wouldn’t surprised me too much if they had a few prewar Milady center bars laying around and someone was bored and cobbled it together.

 

[Ratpoison10]

View attachment 1812567
You’ve got a bit of a hard one there, it really doesn’t help that it seems that there is a lack of info from that time (ads, etc) regarding these sets and the differences.

and that as stated, it looks to be in great shape.

I’ve look at old Worth Point listings and hunted them and haven’t seen a 1947 style, as Alum Ladd pointed out the Milords were common and easy to find.

In my hunt I‘ve also debated making a fake (not to pass off but to use) as if you have taps/dies it actually doesn’t seem hard to accomplish.

Ultimately someone with skilled eyes regarding replates and Gillette gold from that era and the Milady safety bar design would give a better opinion as to if it’s legitimate (Back roads gold for instance)

Wouldn’t surprised me too much if they had a few prewar Milady center bars laying around and someone was bored and cobbled it together.

You got some nice ones. Thanks for the info, I definitely appreciate it.

 

[Alum Ladd]

In my hunt I‘ve also debated making a fake

You mean a 'Homage' Joe

The lack of documented evidence in contemporary advertisments and price lists puzzles me.

The only thought I have in terms of it being a rare original is that it may have been briefly made just post-war much as the 1946 Ranger Tech was, with end caps and the Patent info marked into the inner baseplate, like the 46' RT

The collared handle top which seems to be a 47' although is a puzzle. A late 46' Gillette parts mashup which never made it to the catalogues? Maybe last quarter 46' mashups incorporated first quarter 47 Aristocrat Junior handles which were starting to be in the supply chain?

Its very likely to be an elegant and well made faithful copy of a Milady though, Lord knows when made. Maybe by a Gillette engineer or worker in our timeframe of 46-47.

A fascinating piece in any event. A nice score.

 

[Ratpoison10]

You mean a 'Homage' Joe

The lack of documented evidence in contemporary advertisments and price lists puzzles me.

The only thought I have in terms of it being a rare original is that it may have been briefly made just post-war much as the 1946 Ranger Tech was, with end caps and the Patent info marked into the inner baseplate, like the 46' RT

The collared handle top which seems to be a 47' although is a puzzle. A late 46' Gillette parts mashup which never made it to the catalogues? Maybe last quarter 46' mashups incorporated first quarter 47 Aristocrat Junior handles which were starting to be in the supply chain?

Its very likely to be an elegant and well made faithful copy of a Milady though, Lord knows when made. Maybe by a Gillette engineer or worker in our timeframe of 46-47.

A fascinating piece in any event. A nice score.

It's too bad we don't know more about Gillette specialty razors, or what this could be perhaps a one off.

 

[Joezamboni]

You mean a 'Homage' Joe

The lack of documented evidence in contemporary advertisments and price lists puzzles me.

The only thought I have in terms of it being a rare original is that it may have been briefly made just post-war much as the 1946 Ranger Tech was, with end caps and the Patent info marked into the inner baseplate, like the 46' RT

The “flared“ stops on the safety bar and a few other things me and the poster talked about seemed to indicate it was at least factory made and may have had a 1940ish style case. We know Gillette made some odd handles from spare parts and seems to have made them into sets (tuckaway/bostonian new LC handle red and black sets).

It would be fun to see if this was a factory squirreled one off, prototype or rare set. for now we can see something new.