I saw an add from 1951 for a Gillette Aristocrat in a fauz leather case--I own one--for $5. In today's money that would be $45. So I wonder how many men in 1951 were spending that kind of money on a safety razor. Does anyone know if there are a lot fewer Aristocrats around today than the less expensive Gillettes?
There are a lot fewer Gillette Aristocrats around. On the other hand, they were not as likely to get thrown away, so there are more of them around for sale on eBay. I would venture to say that the ratio of aristocrats to regular Gillette razors is skewed because of that.
Please remember that the time period you speak of 22% of the U.S. Population was completely out of work with no income from any means since there were very few social systems in place. Banks were closing at an alarming rate and the supply of money dwindled away. This was absolutely at the time a luxury item when it was produced in the midst of the Great Depression. Remember a full multi-course meal at a restaurant often cost a $.75 at the time while around 20 to 25% of the people were in bread lines. So what you would pay $20 today for an evening meal could be had for $0.75 if you had $0.75. Inflation tables do not tell the story for that period of time because other monetary and global economic factors make them irrelevant. In real purchasing power terms that $4 razor would be worth around $150 - $200 in today's money.
The time period I'm talking about is the 1950s, a time of post-war economic expansion. In 1951 the unemployment rate in the U.S. was a mere 3.7.
I just bought a Mint Shake Sharp razor from 1945-46 in memory of Cooncat Bob (Shake Sharps were one of his favorite shavers). It sold new for $9.95 for the chrome version or $11.95 for the gold plated razor. By 1952, it was selling for $4.95 according to this ad. For a laugh, scroll down to the ad for "GROW Living MIDGET TREES"
My parents grew up in the 1950s and there was not as much prosperity as people think. Most families only had one income so they had to stretch their buying power. Most of the people who bought Aristocrats, Diplomats, and Presidents were executives and higher level managers. Most of the men bought a Super Speed or equivalent Injector or SE because shaving was a task they had to do and not want to do. They wanted to spend as little as possible to get a good shave.
My mom has talked about the fifties. Her father had come home from the war and was having trouble finding work until the mid fifties. My mom remembers that he and the men in the neighborhood would save soap bits and add them to their shaving mugs because there was not enough money to waste it on a 10 cent puck of shaving soap. The gold plated razors were advertised heavily at Christmas time, so it's unlikely that they sold well any other time of the year, and most were probably purchased as Christmas gifts...which would explain why so many are still found in new condition. (I'm not giving up my favorite injector for this shiny piece of s...) and off to the attic it would go.
They were out of vanilla? No seriously - will we see a thread on this? Every day it's sumthin' new around here. It's why I keep coming.
I will include it, when I get it, in an article I plan to write very soon. I just received the chrome one, sans case, today. The minty gold one with case will be arriving in the next week. It was mailed out yesterday. I've researched them as best I could and found precious little info out there on them. A couple of ads and 3 or 4 threads total in the various shaving forums. They are appallingly rare. I was surprised to find one, let alone both the silver and the gold one. I'm not very interested in the one with the black bakelite handle.
