This box was catalogued and photographed by Gill and Evan Rowlands who also created the website entries.
Box B2a contains items closely related gentlemen’s shaving. It is mostly shaving razors, both manual and electric, but also some accessories like shaving mirrors and hair clippers. Historically, being clean-shaven was generally regarded as a marker of respectability, and shaving has become a routine part of many men’s lives.
All of the shaving razors in this box are Safety Razors, characterised by a reusable handle and head that holds thin, double-edged blades at the correct angle for shaving. Safety Razors largely superseded Straight Razors, also known as Cutthroat Razors, in the early twentieth century.
The safety razors in the box generally date from the 1930s through to the 1960s, when electric shavers began to gain in popularity. The box contains some very early examples of electric shavers, as well as some from the 1970s.
Safety razors where primarily designed to use cheaper, double-edged blades which could be replaced when blunt, rather than resharpening them. However, some safety razors, most notably the innovative Rolls Razor, had a built-in strop that sharpened the blade and extended its life.
