NOS Olympic Special Pioneer Old Type

[BigFoot]

I missed this thread and hadn't gotten the set when Jake asked me to post the pics - and I forgot. But here is my set:

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Handle is not cracked, did not come in the wax sealed wrapper and has the G in D symbol. Very clean, very nice. And I have so very few sets in the shipper, so I like this one very much.

-jim

I have loved this set since the earlier post came out in February or so. Where did you get your's Jim?

They are true beauty's.

 

[gearchow]

I have loved this set since the earlier post came out in February or so. Where did you get your's Jim?

They are true beauty's.

I bought it on ebay in August. The cost was reasonable, but shipping really hurt. It's a nice looking set though with no flaws, so I'm glad I did it. I would have been greatly disappointed though to have found a cracked razor at that price or less then mint.

There does seem to be some controversy about it though?

In this thread, the OP (James) stated that he thinks the date is 1924 and I can add data to that. As in the other sets, I have one single blade and although it is difficult to see - some unfortunate rust - it looks like the date code on the 3-hole blade is 408 and the diamond is 7/8" in length making it the 8'th week of 1924.



Can anybody else report what date code is on the blade included in your sets?

-jim

 

[Mark1966]

I bought it on ebay in August. ...
-jim

So this was one of the three sets from the seller in France?

So that means James the OP got one (and has since sold to Achim)

You got one

I got the third.

Nice to know where they have gone to.

Jake has one as well.

Raiserhobel has one in the other thread

Marcoparis also has one as the OP of the other thread - possibly unopened

I've not opened mine at this stage - so can't say if it is cracked or not. I'll see how I go in continuing to resist the temptation.

 

[thekinge]

So it is a year and a month later, and another of these special and rare Olympic sets has found its way from France to Singapore. There are a few differences in my set though:

1. The words "L Auto" on top of the leatherette case in gilt / gold imprint. Initially I thought that these were calligraphed by its previous owner but after receiving the set and inspecting the imprint, it appears to have been printed professionally
2. The wax seal in my set is on the outer shipper itself and the seller appears to have opened it to take pictures of the razor set inside. Sorry no pictures of the wax seal on the shipper yet

Otherwise, the set is pristine, has the "G in D" mark under the head and there are no cracks in the handle! I have not managed to take pictures yet, so to satiate the need for pictures, here they are from the ebay auction:

 

[Jake]

Very nice. They are really great & rarely seen sets. Congratulations.

 

[Mark1966]

Congrats - so YOU got this set - very nice.

Mine remains unopened ...

 

[Sled Dog]

Nice!! I was watching that one...a bit out of my price range though

 

[thekinge]

Very nice. They are really great & rarely seen sets. Congratulations.

Thanks Jake!

Congrats - so YOU got this set - very nice.

Mine remains unopened ...

Yes sir, I did. This one also remains within the B&B community If I had the sealed set as yours, I would not have used the razor but could not have resisted the temptation to open it up, check the razor and hold it in my hands! Hats off to you for going strong for a year now

Nice!! I was watching that one...a bit out of my price range though

Thanks! The watch count on this one was pretty low, but there was one last minute snipe that was fortunately lower than mine!

 

[Mark1966]

Thanks! The watch count on this one was pretty low, but there was one last minute snipe that was fortunately lower than mine!

Yes, that we me

I was hoping to get an opened one to play with!

 

[thekinge]

Yes, that we me

I was hoping to get an opened one to play with!

Hmmm, sorry mate, this one was meant to be mine! Even if I had lost it, I would have still been happy that I lost to another B&B'er

 

[thekinge]

The words "L Auto" on top of the leatherette case in gilt / gold imprint. Initially I thought that these were calligraphed by its previous owner but after receiving the set and inspecting the imprint, it appears to have been printed professionally

elmerwood scored a Olympic set that also had the word "L'Auto" on top of the case and had asked what they mean. Since there are two sets now with the words "L'Auto" I did a bit more research and came up with an explanation. Although it is posted in elmerwood's thread about his olympic set, I'm posting it here again to keep it under one thread about Olympic sets:


It seems that the words "L'Auto" actually has a meaning and an interesting history. L'Auto was a prominent French sports newspaper that was started in 1900 by Henry Desgrange (an avid cyclist himself). In order to increase circulation, the owners of the L'Auto newspaper created and sponsored the world's most famous cycling tour, Tour De' France. During WWII, the newspaper was taken over by Germans to be their propoganda paper and was shut down at the end of the war, only to be re-christened and re-born as "L'Equipe", which continues publication till this date as a newspaper dedicated to sports.

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As you can see, the calligraphy of the title in the paper matches closely with the gilt on top of the razor case. It is only fitting that a prominent French sports newspaper would have it's own branded razor sets manufactured by Gillette as part of Gillette's special lot for the 1924 Olympics that was hosted by France! And they could have been distributed by the newspaper to staff and business partners as a gift.


It appears that this could be a limited edition set of an already limited edition set!

 

[Merkur25]

That is fantastic! Great research!

 

[tonich]

I got a Pioneer set from France recently (not Olympic version). The seller sent me a shipper also that states SN K868765 on the bottom. The razor itself has no SN on it, just Made in USA and "G in D" mark under the head.
Would that be possible Gillette stamped a SN on the shipper and did not on the razor?
Or did I just got a mismatched set? The seller never advertised he had the shipper which he later on sent along the razor...
He also sent me 2 "L Auto" cases in bad shape with no razors without notification....