It's good to have a friend. Follow the links if you are interested! http://fidosshavingblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/yardley-shaving-soap.html
Congrats!... I have been using Yardley bath soap lately and kept thinking that it was a shame that Yardley shaving soap isn't around anymore.
I telephoned Yardley today and told them about the enthusiasm for this soap. The lady I spoke to thanked me and accepted my suggestion to have a look at what is being said on the shaving forums. Who knows - they may take notice!
Personally, I think public consciousness of both the "Yardley" brand and wet shaving in general have increased and I'll have to begrudgingly acknowledge Gillette and their latest infernal contraptions to have accomplished the latter. TSD has certainly informed me of the quality traditionally associated with Yardley, and even seeing their common hard soaps in the $stores has helped break the barrier some of us guys possess in even considering them. They are admittedly not packaged to attract the non-metrosexual male and I commend Fido in taking the initiative in raising Yardley's consciousness about our community's enthusiasm for their product... Now Yardley... don't you dare forget about the Gold cream either!!
Man this stuff goes for so much on ebay, I can't justify it, but I read so many good things about it. That would be nice if they started making it again. I wonder how much it went for back in the day.
I saw some reports on B&B that prices passed $100. This used to sit on drug store shelves next to Old Spice and Williams. At the time, I preferred Old Spice, probably because I liked the mug better. I wouldn't pay that much for a puck of soap, but I can see why collectors and hobbyists would want to try it. 40 or so years ago, Old Spice and Yardley were dominant soaps, at least here in the states. Yardley, if I remember correctly, was a bit upscale. And connecting with the "roots" of wet shaving is kinda cool. I've used it, but I have no memory of how good it was or why I preferred Old Spice. May have been cost or, like I said, the very cool Old Spice mug (which I lost in a flood in 1994 ).