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One British Thing: The Safety Razor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2020

Abstract

This essay examines the history of the safety razor in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain. In so doing, it explores male shaving practices and the male investment in physical appearance in the age of industrial capitalism. In highlighting the history of a single material artifact to showcase the relationship between masculinity, good grooming, personal success, and notions of self-improvement, this essay also underscores the growing influence of American products in British life, the intricacies of the consumer economy, and the increasing sophistication of advertising practices.

Type
Original Manuscript
Copyright
Copyright © The North American Conference on British Studies, 2020

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References

1 “History of Male Grooming,” Times (London), 16 September 1995, 3[S].

2 Nickerson, William E., “The Developments of the Gillette Safety Razor, Part 3, Conclusion—The Problem of the Razor,” Gillette Blade 2, no. 3 (1919): 6–18Google Scholar, at 11.

3 For more on these themes, see Paul R. Deslandes, The Culture of Male Beauty in Britain: From the First Photographs to David Beckham (Chicago, forthcoming).

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12 Coster, Sharpest Edge in the World, 19.

13 Advertisement for Gillette Safety Razor, Manchester Guardian, 6 October 1921, 9; advertisement for Williams Shaving Stick and Cream, Observer (UK), 23 January 1927, 24.

14 Advertisement for Gillette, Picture Post (UK), 11 May 1940, 38; advertisement for Colgate Brushless Shave Cream, Picture Post (UK), 28 June 1941, 6.

15 Advertisement for Ever-Ready, Picture Post (UK), 9 July 1949, 40.

16 Advertisement for Remington, Picture Post (UK), 10 December 1956, 12.

17 “Gillette Intends to Have the Edge,” Guardian (UK), 24 August 1967, 9.