How to Collect Antique Shaving Mugs

Shaving mugs were used from ca. 1880-1930. This article deals with identifying, valuing, and collecting examples of antique shaving mugs.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Men's antique shaving mugs were mainly used in the period 1880-1930. Most men in those times went to their local barbershop for a daily shave. In the 1870's barbers used a common mug for all patrons. The appearance of a fungal infection called "Barber' s Itch" led to the use of individual, personalized shaving mugs. The earliest mugs ca. 1880-1891 had straight sides and dull gold lettering. These mugs were generally 3 1/2" in height. From 1891 to about 1929 was the heyday of antique shaving mugs. Shaving mugs from that time period feature bright gold lettering and are about 3 3/4" high. During WWI all American soldiers were issued a Gillette safety razor and learned to shave themselves. This led to the demise of visiting the barbershop for a shave, and thus to the decline of shaving mugs. From 1930 on mugs were still being made but did not have the same quality as the older mugs. These are called "aftermarket" mugs.

2. Most shaving mugs look like a large size coffee cup. Antique shaving mugs and are hand painted. They can be categorized as Personalized, Floral, Decorative, Fraternal, and Occupational mugs. There are also categories for early advertising and for souvenir shaving mugs. Personalized mugs bear the name of the mug's owner, usually in gold Gothic script. Floral mugs as the name suggests had the name of the mug owner and floral decorations. Decorative mugs had scenes of animals, geometric designs, comic pictures and any number or other scenes such as pretty ladies, etc.
   Fraternal mugs feature the personal name and the logo of one or more fraternal organizations such as the Masons, Oddfellows, Knights of Columbus, etc. Occupational mugs are the most valuable and sought after and have the person's name and a picture representative of his job or occupation, e.g. plumber, carpenter, farmers, etc. Antique advertising mugs are not personalized but carry the name and/or logo of a shaving product such as "Use Kropp Razors", or "Williams Shaving Soap" and the like. Souvenir shaving mugs depict a place visited and were given as gifts or saved as souvenirs of a trip.

3. Antique shaving mugs can be evaluated and valued based on several characteristics: Loss of gold on the name or top and bottom rings, clarity and rarity of pictures for a fraternal or occupational mug and presence or absence of chips, cracks or flakes. Collectors look for intact gold lettering and rim decoration, absence of defects, and intact scenes.

4. Personalized mugs can generally be found in the $20-$50 range. Floral mugs go for approximately $50-$100. Fraternal mugs valuation depends on the rarity of the fraternal organization and can be several hundred dollars. Occupational mugs are the most sought after by collectors and can be worth thousands of dollars: these are hard to find.

5. Finding antique shaving mugs is difficult and the new collector needs to have reference material: books by Keith Estep, " The Shaving Mug & Barber Bottle Book" and the "Best of Shaving Mugs" are standard references as is "The Vanishing American Barbershop" by Ronald Barlow.
   Other reference texts are: Schroeder's "Antiques Price Guide" published annually; the Kovel's "Antiques & Collectible Price List" published annually; Antique Trader' s "Antiques & Collectible Price Guide", also a annual edition. These books should be available at your local library, and if not can be ordered on loan from other libraries.The National Shaving Mug Collectors Association is the organization for collectors. Antique Shaving Mugs can be found in antique stores, flea markets and at estate sales. They are also available on EBay.

6. Please check my website at http:www.geocities.com/vienna/9014 for photographs of the various shaving mug types.

[warming]

on 9/9/2009 great article

[TurtleDog]

on 8/25/2009 Very interesting article. Thanks! Not long ago I started using a shaving brush and enjoy it so much I wrote an ehow about it. The problem is my mug is a boring old coffee mug. This article gives some good insight on changing that for good. Thanks again! 5 Stars!