King Camp Gillette personal memorabilia
- Thread starter KCGRazor
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Yes, there is interest. For sure.
What do you have? what's the provenance? Tell us all.
What do you have? what's the provenance? Tell us all.
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- #3
We cant give you valuations, but if you would like to share some pictures and info on your collection then we would be very interested
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- #5
Well if you have any ideas where would be a good place to go and gauge the interest in personal Gillette memorabilia it would be very helpful.
Here is a couple pictures of at least his razor. It was made by Tiffany & Co. and is made of silver and 23 karat gold plating and has his initials on the front of the silver & gold case and on the head of the razor. It was made some time in the 1910's. In the 1990's I contacted Gillette Razor Company and they know of no other examples of a razor with the KCG monogram on either the case or head of the razor.
Here is a couple pictures of at least his razor. It was made by Tiffany & Co. and is made of silver and 23 karat gold plating and has his initials on the front of the silver & gold case and on the head of the razor. It was made some time in the 1910's. In the 1990's I contacted Gillette Razor Company and they know of no other examples of a razor with the KCG monogram on either the case or head of the razor.
Holy crabsticks!
Call an auction house. If you have provenance then that is worth proper money.
And ignore the PM's that are about to flood your inbox until you have spoken to them. If they are selling it then they will get you maximum dollar (So they get maximum commission.)
Call an auction house. If you have provenance then that is worth proper money.
And ignore the PM's that are about to flood your inbox until you have spoken to them. If they are selling it then they will get you maximum dollar (So they get maximum commission.)
That is sweet. I hope you have some provenance because I imagine it is worth a shirtload.
WOW, that is amazing!! May I ask how you acquired this beautiful kit?
Wow! That is unbelievable cool.
Could you tell me if there are any markings on the underside of the cap or guard of the razor?
Could you tell me if there are any markings on the underside of the cap or guard of the razor?
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- #10
My father was given the razor by George Gillette, the nephew of King Camp, back around 1975. In addition, we have the personal family photographs of the early Gillette family, with Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes dating back to the 1840’s. Included in this extensive photographic history are baby pictures of King Camp Gillette and other pictures from his youth that have never before been published. We have photographs of his parents, and grandparents, some of whom were born in 1790’s or before. We have collections of photographs of the brothers and sister of King. One sister, Fanny Gillette, was a significant dramatic actress on the Vaudeville circuit. We have forty or fifty of her professional photographs from the 1880s to 1890s, as well as a painted portrait of her.
One rare and unique item is a school yearbook collection of tintype portraits of students, teachers, and administrators (each about 1 inch in size). The school was known as the Skinner School, and is considered one of the first public schools in the Chicago area. It began in 1860, and based on the age of Lina Gillette, King’s older sister, who appears in the photographs, this may be an album of the first or second year of the school. It may be the only such album in existence.
George Gillette’s mother, Fanny Camp Gillette who was born about 1828, published what was known as the “White House Cookbook” (as in the presidential Whitehouse) It is still in publication, but updated. We have a copy of one of the early editions. Fanny Camp Gillette as a young girl was trained in the female education of sewing. We have a “sampler” which she sewed in 1837, signed Fanny E. Camp, Marshall (Michigan). We also have tinted ink portrait of her made about 1839 or 1840. These are all very historically linked items.
One rare and unique item is a school yearbook collection of tintype portraits of students, teachers, and administrators (each about 1 inch in size). The school was known as the Skinner School, and is considered one of the first public schools in the Chicago area. It began in 1860, and based on the age of Lina Gillette, King’s older sister, who appears in the photographs, this may be an album of the first or second year of the school. It may be the only such album in existence.
George Gillette’s mother, Fanny Camp Gillette who was born about 1828, published what was known as the “White House Cookbook” (as in the presidential Whitehouse) It is still in publication, but updated. We have a copy of one of the early editions. Fanny Camp Gillette as a young girl was trained in the female education of sewing. We have a “sampler” which she sewed in 1837, signed Fanny E. Camp, Marshall (Michigan). We also have tinted ink portrait of her made about 1839 or 1840. These are all very historically linked items.
This all sounds quite important. I'm sure Boston MA has a museum. I think a curator would be interested in looking at this stuff.
They will not value it (in fact, they will probably try to get you to donate it) but they can tell you if it is historically significant. My feeling (having worked for museums for years) is that it could be.
Talk to a curator, then a big auction house.
Gillette themselves may want to buy that stuff.
They will not value it (in fact, they will probably try to get you to donate it) but they can tell you if it is historically significant. My feeling (having worked for museums for years) is that it could be.
Talk to a curator, then a big auction house.
Gillette themselves may want to buy that stuff.
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Wow, just wow!! That is too cool! a lot of very cool stuff! truly museum quality too, simply amazing. You'd think Gillette(the company) would want that razor, but then again I don't know how concerned they are with the their product history, regardless you have some in my opinion priceless things here!
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- #13
I posted this in the general shaving forum, and thought I might get some more ideas here.
My family has for over thirty years now had sitting in our attic a great deal of King Camp Gillette's personal memorabilia. Including a custom monogrammed silver and gold razor (see photos below) and a great deal of photographs, writings and other documents. We pulled the stuff out of the attic the other day and are now curious what we have and what the value is. Any thoughts on where to go for a good sense of value and interest in personal memorabilia like this? Thanks in advance.
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Here is a couple pictures of at least his razor. It was made by Tiffany & Co. and is made of silver and 23 karat gold plating and has his initials on the front of the silver & gold case and on the head of the razor. It was made some time in the 1910's. In the 1990's I contacted Gillette Razor Company and they know of no other examples of a razor with the KCG monogram on either the case or head of the razor.
My father was given the razor by George Gillette, the nephew of King Camp, back around 1975. In addition, we have the personal family photographs of the early Gillette family, with Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes dating back to the 1840s. Included in this extensive photographic history are baby pictures of King Camp Gillette and other pictures from his youth that have never before been published. We have photographs of his parents, and grandparents, some of whom were born in 1790s or before. We have collections of photographs of the brothers and sister of King. One sister, Fanny Gillette, was a significant dramatic actress on the Vaudeville circuit. We have forty or fifty of her professional photographs from the 1880s to 1890s, as well as a painted portrait of her.
One rare and unique item is a school yearbook collection of tintype portraits of students, teachers, and administrators (each about 1 inch in size). The school was known as the Skinner School, and is considered one of the first public schools in the Chicago area. It began in 1860, and based on the age of Lina Gillette, Kings older sister, who appears in the photographs, this may be an album of the first or second year of the school. It may be the only such album in existence.
George Gillettes mother, Fanny Camp Gillette who was born about 1828, published what was known as the White House Cookbook (as in the presidential Whitehouse) It is still in publication, but updated. We have a copy of one of the early editions. Fanny Camp Gillette as a young girl was trained in the female education of sewing. We have a sampler which she sewed in 1837, signed Fanny E. Camp, Marshall (Michigan). We also have tinted ink portrait of her made about 1839 or 1840. These are all very historically linked items.
My family has for over thirty years now had sitting in our attic a great deal of King Camp Gillette's personal memorabilia. Including a custom monogrammed silver and gold razor (see photos below) and a great deal of photographs, writings and other documents. We pulled the stuff out of the attic the other day and are now curious what we have and what the value is. Any thoughts on where to go for a good sense of value and interest in personal memorabilia like this? Thanks in advance.
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Here is a couple pictures of at least his razor. It was made by Tiffany & Co. and is made of silver and 23 karat gold plating and has his initials on the front of the silver & gold case and on the head of the razor. It was made some time in the 1910's. In the 1990's I contacted Gillette Razor Company and they know of no other examples of a razor with the KCG monogram on either the case or head of the razor.
My father was given the razor by George Gillette, the nephew of King Camp, back around 1975. In addition, we have the personal family photographs of the early Gillette family, with Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes dating back to the 1840s. Included in this extensive photographic history are baby pictures of King Camp Gillette and other pictures from his youth that have never before been published. We have photographs of his parents, and grandparents, some of whom were born in 1790s or before. We have collections of photographs of the brothers and sister of King. One sister, Fanny Gillette, was a significant dramatic actress on the Vaudeville circuit. We have forty or fifty of her professional photographs from the 1880s to 1890s, as well as a painted portrait of her.
One rare and unique item is a school yearbook collection of tintype portraits of students, teachers, and administrators (each about 1 inch in size). The school was known as the Skinner School, and is considered one of the first public schools in the Chicago area. It began in 1860, and based on the age of Lina Gillette, Kings older sister, who appears in the photographs, this may be an album of the first or second year of the school. It may be the only such album in existence.
George Gillettes mother, Fanny Camp Gillette who was born about 1828, published what was known as the White House Cookbook (as in the presidential Whitehouse) It is still in publication, but updated. We have a copy of one of the early editions. Fanny Camp Gillette as a young girl was trained in the female education of sewing. We have a sampler which she sewed in 1837, signed Fanny E. Camp, Marshall (Michigan). We also have tinted ink portrait of her made about 1839 or 1840. These are all very historically linked items.
priceless , belongs in the smithasonian
Wow!! You will get more information than you can imagine from some of the folks on here. You found the right place to ask these questions and to post these photos!!
- Thread starter
- #16
Back in the late 90s we went to a taping of the American Roadshow, and the people there could not give us a value saying it was "too unique". We put it back on the shelf and have not really pursued finding out the value until now. It is an odd thing to have, because it sits on the shelf and you can totally forget about it, but whenever we have taken it out and held it or let others hold it, the sentiment has always been one of you are holding a piece of history. It is really strange.
Thank you very much for posting the photo. Very interesting indeed, a lovely item.
Seeing as John Wayne's ugly bunch of 1970's razors just went for over $70,000 at auction, I would say use your imagination on this one. Got to be worth that or more. But I agree, anything that close to an American entrepreneurial icon deserves to be in a museum.
Wow! Sorry I can't help with your question. What an incredible piece of history to have. Thank you for the photos. Really nice.
Speechless...
Thank you so much for sharing the photos and the history with us.
I could not even begin to speculate on the value of those items. But they should certainly be stored someplace very, very safe!
Thank you so much for sharing the photos and the history with us.
I could not even begin to speculate on the value of those items. But they should certainly be stored someplace very, very safe!
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