Why are shaving mugs printed with "remember me"?

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by Epimetheus, Nov 26, 2015.

  1. Epimetheus

    Epimetheus Well-Known Member

    Why do many old shaving mugs have the words "Remember me" or "Think of me"? No name or picture to remember, just those words. I think the German version is "Zum Andenken" translated as "in memory of".
     
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  2. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Not so much "in memory of", rather "in remembrance". "Think of me".
     
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  3. cmorris357

    cmorris357 catching flies.........

    Not completely sure but I think it has to do with the fact that in those days, men didn't shave at home but were shaved by the barber. A man had the option to purchase a mug and brush for his own personal use, which the barber stored on a shelf for him. It was a tradition that when a customer died, the barber would present the mug to his family as a memento.
     
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  4. Morman Bridge

    Morman Bridge Well-Known Member

    Amazing! I did not know this. What a wonderful tradition!
     
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  5. Omaney

    Omaney Well-Known Member

    You made that up!!!
     
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  6. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    Or maybe he didn't. The barber wouldn't have any further use for the mug, and turning it over to the owner's family would make sense.

    The Internet has a lot of information of varying degrees of accuracy. This is especially true for auction sites. Many "antique" mugs were actually made as souvenirs in the 1950s - 1970s. "Remember me" might well have been inscribed on gift items. Someone at the The National Organization For Barber Shop should be able to provide a definitive answer.
     
  7. cmorris357

    cmorris357 catching flies.........

    If you've ever read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, one of the passages describes the family stopping by the barber shop after the father dies, to get his mug. The barber washes it out, and gives it to the boy, and tells him what a good man his father was. Even though he was really an alcoholic bum.
     
    waddowedonowmo and Spyder like this.
  8. Eeyore

    Eeyore Well-Known Member

    Isn't that simply because they were often given as presents?
     

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