Acquisitions April 2026

Ghostbuster

Ghostbuster

Über Member
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I recently picked up a nice English made 1938 #15 Gillette Aristocrat.
430.030 on the underside of the head, no markings on the bands.

The outer case isn't exactly pristine but for something almost 90 years old, it isn't looking too shabby.
Internally though the case is in great condition with all the lining in place and clean, the blade bank/holder also still contains a Gillette Thin blade, first produced that same year.

The Razor itself is in beautiful condition, smooth action on the TTO and the Rhodium still shining like new.
All teeth present and straight.
It must have only been used very lightly.

The price card and lining is where it gets interesting.
I've spent a decent amount of time looking into the fantastic research that's been done on these razors in the usual web based founts of knowledge, and this appears to be a set made in England but intended for export to Australia, hence the deep red lining instead of purple.
But the price card seems to indicate that it was sold at UK retail, whether this was common practice for export sets or due to the throttling of export at the start of the war leading to stock relocation, I don't know.

The reference to included tax seems to refer to the Purchase Tax introduced in 1940 levied on the wholesale value of luxury items to raise funds for the war effort.
Which could possibly mean this had sat in a warehouse after production, intended for export but had been relocated in 1940 to a UK retailer by Gillette once export was vastly reduced and the new tax had been put in place, with the price card added to reflect the tax and adjusted prices.

I know probably no one else cares about this extra fluff, but I found it interesting as I fell down the rabbit hole 😅
 
Randy

Randy

Legendary Member
Ghostbuster said:
View attachment 174882
View attachment 174883
View attachment 174884

I recently picked up a nice English made 1938 #15 Gillette Aristocrat.
430.030 on the underside of the head, no markings on the bands.

The outer case isn't exactly pristine but for something almost 90 years old, it isn't looking too shabby.
Internally though the case is in great condition with all the lining in place and clean, the blade bank/holder also still contains a Gillette Thin blade, first produced that same year.

The Razor itself is in beautiful condition, smooth action on the TTO and the Rhodium still shining like new.
All teeth present and straight.
It must have only been used very lightly.

The price card and lining is where it gets interesting.
I've spent a decent amount of time looking into the fantastic research that's been done on these razors in the usual web based founts of knowledge, and this appears to be a set made in England but intended for export to Australia, hence the deep red lining instead of purple.
But the price card seems to indicate that it was sold at UK retail, whether this was common practice for export sets or due to the throttling of export at the start of the war leading to stock relocation, I don't know.

The reference to included tax seems to refer to the Purchase Tax introduced in 1940 levied on the wholesale value of luxury items to raise funds for the war effort.
Which could possibly mean this had sat in a warehouse after production, intended for export but had been relocated in 1940 to a UK retailer by Gillette once export was vastly reduced and the new tax had been put in place, with the price card added to reflect the tax and adjusted prices.

I know probably no one else cares about this extra fluff, but I found it interesting as I fell down the rabbit hole 😅
Click to expand...
I do care 🙂
 
Twelvefret

Twelvefret

Forum GOD!
Ghostbuster said:
View attachment 174882
View attachment 174883
View attachment 174884

I recently picked up a nice English made 1938 #15 Gillette Aristocrat.
430.030 on the underside of the head, no markings on the bands.

The outer case isn't exactly pristine but for something almost 90 years old, it isn't looking too shabby.
Internally though the case is in great condition with all the lining in place and clean, the blade bank/holder also still contains a Gillette Thin blade, first produced that same year.

The Razor itself is in beautiful condition, smooth action on the TTO and the Rhodium still shining like new.
All teeth present and straight.
It must have only been used very lightly.

The price card and lining is where it gets interesting.
I've spent a decent amount of time looking into the fantastic research that's been done on these razors in the usual web based founts of knowledge, and this appears to be a set made in England but intended for export to Australia, hence the deep red lining instead of purple.
But the price card seems to indicate that it was sold at UK retail, whether this was common practice for export sets or due to the throttling of export at the start of the war leading to stock relocation, I don't know.

The reference to included tax seems to refer to the Purchase Tax introduced in 1940 levied on the wholesale value of luxury items to raise funds for the war effort.
Which could possibly mean this had sat in a warehouse after production, intended for export but had been relocated in 1940 to a UK retailer by Gillette once export was vastly reduced and the new tax had been put in place, with the price card added to reflect the tax and adjusted prices.

I know probably no one else cares about this extra fluff, but I found it interesting as I fell down the rabbit hole 😅
Click to expand...
I enjoy the “extra fluff”!
 
chazt

chazt

Forum !
Apologies in advance if this runs against forum rules. Thank you Mods for hopefully allowing me to post the information. Of course, please delete if you see fit. Thank you.

My long time friend Phil Huntsinger is closing down BullGoose shaving dot com at the end of this month. I got an email today with a deep discount code and thought I’d share the code. There are great deals on whatever remains. The code is Bumpitup35. Silly code, great discount.
 
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