By Doug Graves The history of personal grooming and hygiene along with barbershop antiques offers collectors a popular collectible: the shaving mug. “Before there were $200 electric shavers and 29-cent disposable razors, shaving was an art complete with accoutrements like steamy hot towels, straight-edged razors and shaving mugs,” says Wes Cowan, founder and owner of Cowan’s Auctions, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Americans started using shaving mugs shortly after the Civil War and continued using them through the 1920s.” These porcelain mugs often featured a client’s occupation via an image on the mug. The mugs looked similar to traditional ceramic mugs and were mass produced in places like Germany, England and France, as well as in the United States. Often they were mass-produced in blank porcelain and were decorated once they reached the U.S. “For nearly 50 years, the local barbershop was a kind of clubhouse for the working class,” Cowan said. “Barbers used their own shaving mugs. Concerned about the sanitary issues of using communal shaving apparatus, patrons began ordering personalized shaving mugs through their barbers. These mugs were kept on a rack at the barbershop. Barbershop shaving mugs have become very collectible.” Like beer steins, the mugs were hygienic – one per customer. There was no sharing of shaving mugs nor could the barber use the same cake of soap from the mug of one customer for another. The mugs held soap which was lathered up using a stiff bristled brush and then applied onto the face of the customer prior to shaving. “Shaving mugs used in conjunction with hotel barbershops are also of value to collectors,” Cowan said. “Mugs were located in the hotel’s barbershop in the lobby and were marked with the guest’s room number. The guest would carry his mug to the barber and have his shaving bill charged to his room.” Shaving mugs can be classified into four types: occupational, fraternal, decorative and scuttle. Occupational shaving mugs are highly desirable. Some occupational shaving mugs are worth thousands of dollars each. Some were decorated with an image that related to the owner’s profession or occupation like a hearse for an undertaker, eyeglasses for an eye doctor, a locomotive for a train conductor, or a horse for an equestrian or a horse racing enthusiast. A barber shop could have an impressive and diverse collection of occupational shaving mugs on its shelves depending on the clients who patronize the shop and the prestige of the shop›s clientele. For many men during the shaving mug era an occupational mug would cost them as much as a full day’s worth of wages, while a simple gold name mug would cost as much as one-fifth of the total. Very few men ordered occupational mugs. According to Cowan and others, occupationals have several levels of rarity within the category, the easiest to find are the three B’s: butcher blacksmith and bartender. Mid-level occupationals include the average tradesmen and workers. High-end occupational include educated professions such as doctors, lawyers, politicians or wealthy businessmen. Fraternal shaving mugs feature emblems of a Fraternal Organization identifying its owner as a member. There have been many different Fraternal organizations in the U.S. throughout history and they were a very active and important part of society during the period where shaving mugs were popular. While the term Fraternal refers to these organizations, mugs featuring logos or symbols of trade unions, patriotic organizations, religious societies or secret societies are also lumped under this term because of the similarity of the subject matter. Some of the more common Fraternal mugs found are the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of Golden Eagle, Masonic, B.P.O.E., Odd Fellows, Knights of Maccabee, Knights of Pythias and Freemasons. Examples of the middle tier of Fraternals include Knights of Columbus, Order of Moose, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Baker’s Union, Sons of Veterans, Woodmen of the World and Grand Army of the Republic. Some of the rarest and most desirable Fraternal mugs among collectors include Order of Owls, Ancient Order of Hibernians, American Legion, Order of Buffaloes, Knight Templar, Redmen (Chief design), Order of Independent Americans and Sons of Italy in America (Lion design). Decorative shaving mugs sit in the middle of the spectrum of shaving mug rarity. They are more common than Occupational and Fraternals, but are more desirable than simple Gold Name mugs or Floroals. Within the Decorative category there are several smaller types that can be found, such as: Geometric or Abstract Decorative shaving mugs. These mugs will have the owner’s name and be decorated with geometric designs or abstract decorations. These mugs are not considered very rare or desirable and are at the low end of the value range. Cartoon or Comical Decorative shaving mugs feature cartoony style illustrations, common ones include fogs, rabbits or monkeys in various humorous scenes. Many of these mugs don’t have a personalized name on them. Other decorative mugs include those of pretty women, children playing in various scenes, scenes or landscapes, birds, butterflies, horse heads, patriotic and flag mugs. A shaving scuttle mug is a mix between a jug, a mug and a scuttle. Their original purpose was to provide the shaver with a ready supply of hot water. When scuttles were invented in the second half of the 19th century, running hot water was a luxury that few people could afford. The man of the house would fill up his shaving-scuttle with boiling water from the kettle on the kitchen stove and carry it back to his washstand or bathroom to commence the day’s shaving. Once the scuttle was full of water, the shaving brush was shoved into it, through the spout. The idea was to warm up the brush, soften it and let it retain some water for the task ahead. A series of holes in the well of scuttle are there to drain away any excess water used in the lathering process. “The safety razor was invented around the time of World War I when the Gilette razor was introduced to the American troops,” Cowan said. “At that time, men began shaving at home, and a daily trip to the barber became virtually obsolete.” According to Cowan, several companies in America specialized in creating shaving mugs with the foremost being Koken Co. of St. Louis. Other companies included J.R. Voldan (Cleveland), Harold Brothers (Cleveland), C. Knecht (Chicago), Pabst & Kohlrt (Columbus), Philip Eisemann (Lancaster, Pa.), R.H. Hegener (Minneapolis). B.S. Co. (St. Louis) and N.W. Wilson Co. (Portland). Dr. Lori Verderame, TV personality, author and antiques appraiser, offers some advice for anyone wanting to engage in Occupational mug hunting. “There are many clues to value when considering occupational shaving mugs and understanding pottery marks,” Verderame said. “The country of origin and the maker’s mark will be located on the underside of the mug and this will tell you where the mug was manufactured and originally produced |