British Bostonian

[Mark1966]

I hit two antique stores will on Adelaide on a business trip last week. In the first I picked up a cased #15. Nice but you know what - I prefer my score in the second shop.



The exterior of the case caught my attention. It is engraved with:

'Presented to C. J. Harding Best & Fairest Player for S.A v N.S.W. Jubilee Oval Aug 17th 1929'

For those outside Australia SA is South Australia and NSW is New South Wales, two of our states. I'm yet to determine even the sport played by Mr Harding yet - more detective work to do.

Exterior:

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=25474


So I'd fallen in love with this bit of history already and presumed by the case that he had been given a Bostonian. Then I opened it up:

Interior:

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=25475

Note the interior indicates 'Case Made in USA' not the more usual 'Made in the USA' marking. OK, now my interest is REALLY aroused. So I look at the razor (which I've cleaned up a little before taking these pics BTW).


Under the head:

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=25476

It is made in England! Now that can't be too common. Checking the handle the patent number is 133963 - 1917, a British patent presumably.


[poor picture of the] Patent Number:

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=25478

For interest the serial number is 144296 Y

[poor picture of the]Serial Number:

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=25479

There seems to be an earlier thread on these here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=152869) but the pics have gone. There are pics and a thread on a British New Standard which is the same razor in a different case here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1510045) which also has the same Y series serial number.

So hopefully this little score has added a little more info in our understanding of Gillette razor history :thumbup:

[GreekGuy]

No pics of the #15? You TEASE! :biggrin1:

[Mark1966]

No pics of the #15? You TEASE! :biggrin1:

Like I said Nick, I prefer this second one and I wanted to share it with others. After all the British #15's are so ordinary :lol:

[GreekGuy]

Like I said Nick, I prefer this second one and I wanted to share it with others. After all the British #15's are so ordinary :lol:

HAHA, thats true!

Very nice score btw. Gorgeous razor!

I wish I had such bountiful antique stores around. All I can ever find are techs with broken handles for $20

[blackfoot]

Very nice! :thumbup1:

[Rasierhobel]

he was a cricket player.

[Mark1966]

I wish I had such bountiful antique stores around. All I can ever find are techs with broken handles for $20

This is by far and away the best day I've ever had. I usually spend a lot of time and come up empty to get this and a #15 was unbelievable.

The meeting I was going to afterwards faded rapidly in importance :lol:

[Mark1966]

he was a cricket player.

C J Harding? Do you have any links or references? I want to put together a full history for this if I can.

Thanks

[Rasierhobel]

C J Harding? Do you have any links or references? I want to put together a full history for this if I can.

Thanks

not really but if i type "S.A v N.S.W." google only finds cricket stuff...

furtermore the Jubilee Oval is a stadium where cricket was played before rubgy
wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_Oval) but i see it was opened in 1936 therefore there had to be another one

[MacDaddy]

I've found a few references to an older Jubilee Oval in Adelaide:

Speedways in South Australia - History (http://www.saspeedway.info/history/history.htm)

"Jubilee Oval Adelaide - 1929
As mentioned various forms of motor cycle racing was held in the early 1910s and speedway was held in 1929."

Normal: Souvenir of the Quarantine Camp, Jubilee Oval, Adelaide, Feb. 26th-Mar. 5th, 1919 (http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn4660965)

An interesting account of quarantine camp that was set up in Adelaide at the Jubilee Oval during an influenza outbreak. Includes photographs, songs, and poems from their time in the camp.

Wakefield Companion to South Australian History (http://books.google.com/books?id=EDgPo8KWKh4C&lpg=PA265&dq=australia%20%22jubilee%20oval%22%20adelaide&pg=PA265#v=onepage&q=australia%20%22jubilee%20oval%22%20adelaide&f=false)

"The other racing code, harness racing, began as informal trotting races for working horses dragging carts or drays. A trotting club was established at Victoria Park racecourse in 1880. During the 1920s light sulkies were introduced to harness racing and the South Australian Trotting Club was formed. The ‘trots’ were held at Jubilee Oval where the University of Adelaide now stands…"

[Mark1966]

OK, the history of this razor is now, in my view, settled - see below.

According to an article (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/53479460?searchTerm=soccer%20jubilee%20oval%20%20&searchLimits=fromyyyy=1929|||frommm|||fromdd|||toy yyy=1929|||tomm|||todd)in the August 17 1929 issue of The Register news-pictorial an interstate soccer match was held on that day at the Jubilee Oval in Adelaide between SA and NSW for the Australian Junior championship.

The match report (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/58618552?searchTerm=soccer%20jubilee%20oval&searchLimits=exactPhrase|||anyWords|||notWords|||l-textSearchScope=*ignore*%7C*ignore*|||fromdd=01||| frommm=08|||fromyyyy=1929|||todd=29|||tomm=08|||to yyyy=1929|||l-word=*ignor)from that evening’s issue of The Mail indicates that ‘an excellent exhibition of soccer was witnessed’ with NSW the victors 3 goals to 2. The Advertiser carries a picture (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/29614765?searchTerm=soccer%20jubilee%20oval%20%20&searchLimits=fromyyyy=1929|||frommm|||fromdd|||toy yyy=1929|||tomm|||todd)of the game.

According to the report in The Mail Harding scored the first goal for South Australia and ‘Harding was playing good football for South Australia, but his inside men failed to take advantage of his centres’. It seems that he was in the thick of it because it is also reported that ‘Harding was unlucky not to score from a hard drive across the goalmouth’.

The report concludes by indicating that ‘Trophies given for the best player on each side were won by Harding (South Australia) and Roddan (New South Wales)’.

So now we know what happened one of the 'trophies' - I just have to find the matching (?) one for Mr Roddan :lol:

More seriously - does anybody else have one of these sets?

[MacDaddy]

I haven't seen a set like it myself, so I can't help you there.

But I love the story. Are any of those boys actually old enough to shave?! The other trophy winner's name was Roddan. (Looks like Australian OCR is about as good as ours here -- you'll actually have better luck finding razor patents if you search for "BAZOBS" or "KAZOBS" on Google Patents. :lol: That Trove site is awesome, though.)

Find his and Harding's descendants, and get the movie made! :thumbup:

[Mark1966]

I haven't seen a set like it myself, so I can't help you there.

But I love the story. Are any of those boys actually old enough to shave?! The other trophy winner's name was Roddan. (Looks like Australian OCR is about as good as ours here -- you'll actually have better luck finding razor patents if you search for "BAZOBS" or "KAZOBS" on Google Patents. :lol: That Trove site is awesome, though.)

Find his and Harding's descendants, and get the movie made! :thumbup:

Thanks - updated the post with the correct name. The Trove site is very cool and the OCR user editable so exactly those sort of problems can be corrected.

The story is interested and very surprising - soccer [football] is not a big sport here compared to the other winter sports.

I just looked at my other Bostonian which says on the interior lining of the case 'Made in Canada' - I'd be very interested in finding anybody else with this set.

[fidjit]

Mark,

You mean an English Bostonian with a case made in the USA ???

This one was even made for the Australian market as you can see by the upside down , down under logo :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/limbot/bostonian/P1020675.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/limbot/bostonian/Bostonian4.jpg
Top of head has 184316Y on it, and on the bottom of the handle PAT 133963-1917.

If I'm completely off the mark here, it's because I'm on my 6th call to Telstra in two days and have been on for 21 minutes....this time :mad3:

[Mark1966]

Mark,

You mean and English Bostonian with a case made in the USA ???

This one was even made for the Australian market as you can see :lol:

Top of head has 184316Y on it, and on the bottom of the handle PAT 133963-1917.


Ian - same Patent and Serial NUmber sequence - very cool!

So this is real and not a mix match.

Check out the further history being turned up on the original owner in the GSL thread here - http://badgerandblade.com/vb/group.php?&do=discuss&groupid=25&discussionid=2611&gmid=27344#gmessage27344

[Greyfox]

Good thread.:001_smile

[fidjit]

Great research from everyone here.

Mark, there's a bit more info about dating Bostonians here in my original discovery thread (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=114724&highlight=bostonian).

[Mark1966]

Great research from everyone here.

Mark, there's a bit more info about dating Bostonians here in my original discovery thread (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=114724&highlight=bostonian).

So there is mine, fidjits and the one damaged one that Luc PIFed to Darjeeling Express.

Calling any other British Bostonians!

[ras120]

I have one. Serial #130391Y.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/320/image1nb.jpg (http://www.freecodesource.com/image-hosting/view/img715/320/image1nb.jpg/)

[Mark1966]

I have one. Serial #130391Y.

COOL - they made them in the UK in gold too obviously :thumbup: Very nice set.

[Mark1966]

OK - the military records arrived and it all matches up!

Private Charles James Harding served with the 2/48th Battalion (Infantry) and was at Tobruk when he was wounded in action on 13 August 1941. He died of his wounds on 20 September 1941 in Egypt and is buried there at Alexandria.

Now that I've ordered and received a copy of the records you can see a digital version of the records on-line here (http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=6402312).

On the second page of the records there is even a photo.

So there we have it. I really do have, as my children keep reminding me, a dead man's razor. Unfortunately the antique store where I brought this fram didn't have any records of how they acquired this razor. Obviously it never went to war from its condition, he probably left it with his new wife. What happened to her I don't know. Did she remarry? Did she keep this razor until her death as a reminder of her husband? I'm not sure I'll ever find out.

If you are ever at the Australian War Memorial you can see his entry in the Roll of Honour (http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/roll_of_honour/person.asp?p=551609). I'll certainly be stopping by next time I'm there and pay my respects.

Thanks to those who contributed to this story - it is much appreciated.

There is a thread with more details of this razor and how I acquired itin the GSL discussion group here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=2611).

Or you can check out the full story on my website here (http://www.razor-rescue.com/One-Razor%27s-Story.php).