John F. Kennedy's Gillette frankenset sells at auction for $23,000

[MacDaddy]

This rest of the JFK memorabilia auction is still going on right now so the lot entry hasn't been updated yet, but this lot listed as JFK's personal shaving set, a Gillette Combination Set with the razor swapped out for a long-comb NEW/thick-handled Tech frankenrazor, just went for $23,000. The set comes with a letter from Viola Wise, a White House maid from 1939 to 1981 saying it was given to her by the President's valet, George Thomas, out of Kennedy's personal effects.

Obviously, this set on its own would seem pretty bizarrely mismatched. The bulk of it would most likely have been from the '10s or '20s, when Kennedy wouldn't even have been of shaving age yet. And then there's the razor that's had its handle replaced at some point. You'd have to work to come up with a story for how all those pieces came together. Maybe the set was a hand-me-down from his father and he replaced the razor with a NEW during the '30s, when he would have first reached shaving age, and then later tried a gold Tech but decided he liked the NEW head better and just traded the handle.

In any case, a rather interesting puzzler...

View attachment 378964

 

[midniterambler]

guess he liked the frankenrazor better than the new improved.

 

[alex2363]

How did the Tech get in there, was it the Auction people that may have inserted the Tech since they did not know what razor went in it, and to get more money for a complete set.

 

[alex2363]

guess he liked the frankenrazor better than the new improved.

The inscription design is different too....

 

[MacDaddy]

How did the Tech get in there, was it the Auction people that may have inserted the Tech since they did not know what razor went in it, and to get more money for a complete set.

I don't know anything about this auction house, but no reputable auctioneer would do anything even remotely in that neighborhood. They just take goods from the seller and list them exactly as they are.

The inscription design is different too....

Interestingly, the shapes of the letters on both sets are actually basically the same. Notice the odd sort of pseud-serif on the backsides of the "J"s (below). The work on this latest set seems a lot cruder to me, though -- more like someone was trying to copy the other. Whether that was someone on JFK's behalf or someone with more nefarious intent later on I couldn't say.

That Traveler set has always bothered me a little bit, though. Kennedy was born in 1917, so he would have only been maybe 13 by the time that set was no longer available. It's not out of the question that it could have been something like a confirmation gift, but it's just always seemed a bit odd. This new set is even stranger. They both came from the same guy's collection, too: Raleigh DeGeer Amyx.

 

[Ace McCool]

This rest of the JFK memorabilia auction is still going on right now so the lot entry hasn't been updated yet, but this lot listed as JFK's personal shaving set, a Gillette Combination Set with the razor swapped out for a long-comb NEW/thick-handled Tech frankenrazor, just went for $23,000.

OK who sniped and stole this one from me.. It must have been you Mark!

 

[alex2363]

This rest of the JFK memorabilia auction is still going on right now so the lot entry hasn't been updated yet, but this lot listed as JFK's personal shaving set, a Gillette Combination Set with the razor swapped out for a long-comb NEW/thick-handled Tech frankenrazor, just went for $23,000. The set comes with a letter from Viola Wise, a White House maid from 1939 to 1981 saying it was given to her by the President's valet, George Thomas, out of Kennedy's personal effects.

Obviously, this set on its own would seem pretty bizarrely mismatched. The bulk of it would most likely have been from the '10s or '20s, when Kennedy wouldn't even have been of shaving age yet. And then there's the razor that's had its handle replaced at some point. You'd have to work to come up with a story for how all those pieces came together. Maybe the set was a hand-me-down from his father and he replaced the razor with a NEW during the '30s, when he would have first reached shaving age, and then later tried a gold Tech but decided he liked the NEW head better and just traded the handle.

In any case, a rather interesting puzzler...

View attachment 378964

This member B&B/Foamface says he has the same kit and it came with the same razor? Could it be? http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/368665-JFKs-Shave-Kit

 

[dpm802]

So we're seeing two different cases, two different razors, with the same soap and brush cases in both of them? Confusing.

I guess its not inconceivable that JFK had more than one shaving kit. Maybe one he kept at the White House and the other at home in Hyannisport. Perhaps one he actually shaved with, and the other was a gift he never used. Or maybe he had an early example of RAD.

That letter from the maid is hilarious. It made sense until she got talking about the baby being ugly. That anecdote should have gone in a separate document, not a Letter of Authenticity for the shaving kit.

 

[elmerwood]

So we're seeing two different cases, two different razors, with the same soap and brush cases in both of them? Confusing.

Different everything. I think Porter was using the letters as an example of how they are similar in shape but yet still different.

 

[Ace McCool]

This member B&B/Foamface says he has the same kit and it came with the same razor? Could it be? http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/368665-JFKs-Shave-Kit

He said sans the razor which means without the razor. I think he just means he has the standard old type combination set but it's missing the razor.

 

[Mark1966]

OK who sniped and stole this one from me.. It must have been you Mark!

Nah, not my President

 

[DrAwkward]

Puzzler? I dunno, I think the Tech fat handle with a NEW LC is a nice combo. Since the Weber Bulldog was not available then, I think Jack put together a mighty fine frankenrazor. If I owned that razor, I would load it up with a Polsilver SI blade & shave with it!

 

[August West]

"That's odd. I always used a straight razor."

 

[alex2363]

He said sans the razor which means without the razor. I think he just means he has the standard old type combination set but it's missing the razor.

Yes, he emailed me about it. What ever was in there was replaced by Fatboy.

 

[alex2363]

"That's odd. I always used a straight razor."

View attachment 379091

 

[thekinge]

Wow, besides the unexplained nature of this set, the price that it went for goes on to prove that there are much more deep pocketed reclusive collectors who are happy to keep their collection completely private!

 

[mrb7]

Wow, besides the unexplained nature of this set, the price that it went for goes on to prove that there are much more deep pocketed reclusive collectors who are happy to keep their collection completely private!

Yeah. If *I* ever win the lottery I'll make sure I post pictures so the little people can see mine.

 

[alex2363]

Yeah. If *I* ever win the lottery I'll make sure I post pictures so the little people can see mine.

I am not little

 

[dpm802]

Was there any info on who purchased the JFK razor?

I seriously doubt it was a razor collector, more likely it went to someone who is into Historical Memorabilia. Or maybe it was snapped up by a museum.

 

[alex2363]

Was there any info on who purchased the JFK razor?

I seriously doubt it was a razor collector, more likely it went to someone who is into Historical Memorabilia. Or maybe it was snapped up by a museum.

Here is the email, ask them who won

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