I had to share my most recent "rescue" with the world. Something this beautiful just needs to be seen. The 1904 Gillette Double Ring This Double Ring is one of just over 25,000 produced in 1904 with the "PAT. APL'D FOR" on the handle and also serial numbered. The first 55,000 produced contained no serial number and the later ones starting in 1905 were identified with the actual patent date of Nov. 15 '04. Therefore, this is the rarest of the 1904 varieties. This razor is in near mint condition and and includes the "Chicago, Ill." version of the "Gillette Sales Co." case and the original "DULL" and "SHARP" blades cases, as well as the original instruction book. The Chicago case was only used with the Double Rings, while the "Times Square" cases were used with both the Double Ring and the newer Single Rings starting in 1906. The bottom of the case has a silver guild illustration of one of the blades and states that it contains a "Handle and 12 Blades" for a very pricey $5.00! The instruction booklet, titled "The Gillette Way", is in nice crisp near mint condition itself. I hope to make some copies of the individual pages. The leather covered case is in fantastic condition and the slide clasp and hinges are in perfect working order. Enjoy!! I am adding a couple of shots of the disassembled razor including the serial number of 23569 verifying that it is one of the 25,424 serial numbered "PAT. APL'D FOR" 1904's that Krumholz's mentions in his book.
Oh my! Incredible!!! Could you do me a monster favor and scan that booklet and add it to the instructions thread? That is an incredible find! Thanks for sharing! For being 105 years old, that razor looks AMAZING! I am in awe!
Yes. I was planning on doing just that. And, yes again, it is absolutely incredible. There are no signs of wear anywhere on the razor and the case only has minor fading on the interior and is in about as good of condition as I have ever seen on any case over 70-80 years old.
One other thing I noticed. This razor has 12 combs as apposed to 11 currently being used. Even my NEW has 11 combs. Gillette must have changed some time from the 20s on? Any thoughts
I definitely plan on using it at least once. I'm not really much of a big time collector, but I absolutely love the history behind the Gillettes, as many here have come to learn. I will eventually move it along to someone that I know who can better afford it and can enjoy it, as well. I just wanted to make sure this beauty never made it to sleazeBay.
WOW congrats on the 1904 Double Ring! Makes me want to get out my 1912 single ring and sigh... Good thing I am at work!
Thanks again, Achim. It saved me from have to flatten out the booklet. I'd rather leave it as is. :happy088
I added a couple of more shots including the serial number of 23569 which verifies that it is one of the 25,424 Double Rings made with the "PAT. APL'D FOR" and serial numbered. They started with 1 and went through 25424. Those after that had the "NOV 15.04" patent date stamped instead.
Thanks. I'm enjoying it while I can. I'm going to use it a couple of times just to say I did and then I'll have to sell it, hopefully to someone I know through the forums that can appreciate it and better afford it. That was part of the deal I made with SWMBO when I ponied up far more than I have ever spent rescuing a razor from a shop. But, in the meantime, I am one of the lucky few in the world to own one and believe me, I'm going to have tons of photographic evidence so I'll never forget it. That's a mistake that I made when I rescued a 195. I never saved any photos that I took before sending it to its new home.
What do you mean by "rescue"? Did you actually find this in antique store or shop? If so, another congrats... I really enjoy a good find!
