Gillette Company History Geek Out

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this one... This ad is from Vol. 14 of The World's Work, which covers the issues from May - October 1907, and it pretty clearly states that Gillette had plants in operation in Canada, Germany, France, and England. The volume that Google scanned is done with the ads in a separate end section from the articles, so I'm not sure exactly which issue it ran in. But even if it were October 1907 that seems to be significantly earlier than anything we've seen for the Berlin and Leicester plants.

Based on what we have from the Blade, this ad is fine as far as France and Canada go. Bittues had already been to both places to set up plants. McKibben says the Paris one was a blade line in the corner of a bicycle shop, but I am looking for a better source on that.

For England and Germany, well... frankly I do not know how much credit to put into any advert. Marketing often confuses goals with achievements. The ad copy "working to their utmost capacity" is technically true even if the production capacity of a factory is zero. Notice it says nothing about employment in the non-USA factories, probably because the numbers were nil or were embarrassingly low by comparison. Perhaps when the ad was published some of those factories only existed as a blueprint, a muddy field, or a half-completed building?

Anyway, we have King Camp's statement that the company decided in 1907 to build a factory in England. Probably this was spurred on by the 1906 import duties that one of your earlier references mentioned. We think the factory was completed early in 1909, but it may have had some production capacity before it was complete. Perhaps one wing was done first, or perhaps one floor. They may also have rented space somewhere until it was finished. Unfortunately we have not found any primary sources - a Nickerson or a Bittues - as we have for other locations.

But perhaps we can now say that a factory in Germany was planned or in progress, if not producing, by the second half of 1907?

Around the same time, this ad appeared in the Saturday Evening Post of 16 March 1907. No factories and difficult to read, but it also refers the reader to the "Gillette Sales Co" at the Times Building (but 278 rather than 279 - typo?). Hard to read, but it talks about a new 1907 blade and a "Science of Shaving" booklet, I think. Anyway it is from the same general period as your latest find.

[url="http://books.google.com/books?id=PlswAQAAMAAJ&dq=gillette%20%22278%20times%22&pg=RA1-PA68&ci=61%2C48%2C235%2C797&source=bookclip] [/url]

This newspaper article goes some way to explain Leicester: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hSsbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xEgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1236,83846 from The Pittsburgh Press for 1 April 1908. I cannot copy the text, but it says that Gillette "has now acquired" an existing building, the Gordon (gin?) works in North Evington, Leicester for seven years with a purchase option. Initial employment will be 250 persons with prospects of 400-500. The article attributes this to Lloyd George's new patents act, which "provides that the continuing validity of foreign patents in Great Britain shall be contingent on their being worked in the United Kingdom."

Anyway we still do not know exactly when Gillette moved into these works, or when production started. It is easy to imagine that they got some blade-sharpening machines working within a month or two, but kept on with remodeling the building for another several months. And maybe claiming an English factory in that mid-to-late 1907 ad was just to keep the British patent office happy for a few months?

Edit: according to http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/5150099 (The Advertiser, Adelaide SA, 12 June 1908) Germany had a similar foreign patent law. So Gillette had a very strong incentive to claim factories in both countries as quickly as possible, and sort out the details later. Here is another source, which cites a similar law in France.

[url="http://books.google.com/books?id=NmVMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA577&ots=9LCNFyxxEr&dq=lloyd%20george%20protectionist%20patent%20act%20germany%20years&pg=PA577&ci=311%2C225%2C274%2C302&source=bookclip] [/url]

I like the idea of them spinning up blade manufacturing plants quickly and using them essentially as footholds for their patents while they sorted out where they would turn up extra manufacturing capabilities as they needed them. Seems very much like something they would do. If they could manufacture blades in Paris "in one corner of a maker of bicycle seats" (McKibben, p15) then there's no reason they couldn't have set up even just temporary digs almost anywhere in those other locations while they sorted out permanent accommodations.

I have been busy trying to renovate my rental units these last weeks, been trying to catch up with this thread....very great work so far.

Indeed, very interesting!

TheVez2 said:

Indeed, very interesting!

Click to expand...

I may want to add to this...and you?

mblakele said:

Based on what we have from the Blade, this ad is fine as far as France and Canada go. Bittues had already been to both places to set up plants. McKibben says the Paris one was a blade line in the corner of a bicycle shop, but I am looking for a better source on that.

For England and Germany, well... frankly I do not know how much credit to put into any advert. Marketing often confuses goals with achievements. The ad copy "working to their utmost capacity" is technically true even if the production capacity of a factory is zero. Notice it says nothing about employment in the non-USA factories, probably because the numbers were nil or were embarrassingly low by comparison. Perhaps when the ad was published some of those factories only existed as a blueprint, a muddy field, or a half-completed building?

Anyway, we have King Camp's statement that the company decided in 1907 to build a factory in England. Probably this was spurred on by the 1906 import duties that one of your earlier references mentioned. We think the factory was completed early in 1909, but it may have had some production capacity before it was complete. Perhaps one wing was done first, or perhaps one floor. They may also have rented space somewhere until it was finished. Unfortunately we have not found any primary sources - a Nickerson or a Bittues - as we have for other locations.

But perhaps we can now say that a factory in Germany was planned or in progress, if not producing, by the second half of 1907?

Around the same time, this ad appeared in the Saturday Evening Post of 16 March 1907. No factories and difficult to read, but it also refers the reader to the "Gillette Sales Co" at the Times Building (but 278 rather than 279 - typo?). Hard to read, but it talks about a new 1907 blade and a "Science of Shaving" booklet, I think. Anyway it is from the same general period as your latest find.

Click to expand...

It was on 24 rue Caunchy, the home of a bike seat manufacturer who was doing business as American Saddle Company. Bittues rushed in machinery from all over the USA and even used some from the bike company. By the end of the year Gillette had its 1st foreign factpry up and running. But there is more than meets the eye.......

Many patents lapse if they are not worked ( means that the product must be made in the country granting the patent within a certain time period, 3 years atleast). England did not have that provision at that time, but France did and Gillette deadline was in last day of 1905.
Heilborn had been trying to get a French/Cutler manufacturer to make blades and razors under contract but the plans were halted due to term disagreement and a fire in the French/culter plant. At this point Gillette decided to send Bittues to France to set up a Gillette Factory.

Bittues looked for many places to start the factory and settled on the 24 rue Caunchy/ American Saddle Company. This was Gillette first foreign factory. But in reality it was just a front to stave off the French working Patent expiration. Gillette needed to have this plant but it also needed to start production of razors or the French Feds would revoke the patent. Well, a few years later the patent was revoked when the French courts found that gillette only made the factory as a stop-gag to protect theur patent and not as a serous factory to make blades and razors.

Wihin a year Gillette moved out of the American Saddle Co. and took its machinery with them to the French Cutler who had originally wanted to make the blades in the first place. Bittues then proceeded to Canada to launch the Montreal plant in 1906, then stayed on as managing director Gillette Safety Razor of Company Canada limited.

alex2363 said:

It was on 24 rue Caunchy, the home of a bike seat manufacturer who was doing business as American Saddle Company. Bittues rushed in machinery from all over the USA and even used some from the bike company. By the end of the year Gillette had its 1st foreign factpry up and running. But there is more than meets the eye.......

Many patents lapse if they are not worked ( means that the product must be made in the country granting the patent within a certain time period, 3 years atleast). England did not have that provision at that time, but France did and Gillette deadline was in last day of 1905.
Heilborn had been trying to get a French/Cutler manufacturer to make blades and razors under contract but the plans were halted due to term disagreement and a fire in the French/culter plant. At this point Gillette decided to send Bittues to France to set up a Gillette Factory.

Bittues looked for many places to start the factory and settled on the 24 rue Caunchy/ American Saddle Company. This was Gillette first foreign factory. But in reality it was just a front to stave off the French working Patent expiration. Gillette needed to have this plant but it also needed to start production of razors or the French Feds would revoke the patent. Well, a few years later the patent was revoked when the French courts found that gillette only made the factory as a stop-gag to protect theur patent and not as a serous factory to make blades and razors.

Wihin a year Gillette moved out of the American Saddle Co. and took its machinery with them to the French Cutler who had originally wanted to make the blades in the first place. Bittues then proceeded to Canada to launch the Montreal plant in 1906, then stayed on as managing director Gillette Safety Razor of Company Canada limited.

Click to expand...

Alex, I appreciate that information. As you know I have been trying to footnote everything that goes onto the Gillette Timeline wiki page. Do you have a source I can cite for the data on the Paris factory?

mblakele said:

Alex, I appreciate that information. As you know I have been trying to footnote everything that goes onto the Gillette Timeline wiki page. Do you have a source I can cite for the data on the Paris factory?

Click to expand...

I have been reading it from the Rusell B Adams " The man and his wonderful shaving device" p.67/Chp.4

Alex, thanks for resurrecting this wonderful thread. Your last post makes me wonder if there is a consolidated wiki article in B&B that lists all the various books and periodicals that are relevant to DE shaving / Gillette history! If there is one, please send me the link or if there is none, I'll be happy to take up building that wiki with inputs from the titans here

thekinge said:

Alex, thanks for resurrecting this wonderful thread. Your last post makes me wonder if there is a consolidated wiki article in B&B that lists all the various books and periodicals that are relevant to DE shaving / Gillette history! If there is one, please send me the link or if there is none, I'll be happy to take up building that wiki with inputs from the titans here

Click to expand...

I am not aware of any wiki listings on books pertaining to DE shaving, i just go online and find anything related to it. I also get links from Porter and Mike as they post them and just buy the books that they link or post about.

As far as secondary sources go, it seems like Adams and McKibben are the main ones. I have only read McKibben. The footnotes from Gillette Timeline try to link to primary sources wherever possible. Some of these are single-fact source in tax records or old ads. But the scanned issues of the Gillette Blade are worth looking into, and are freely available via google books.

For collectors, there was recent discussion at http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/343420-Razor-Books

mblakele said:

As far as secondary sources go, it seems like Adams and McKibben are the main ones. I have only read McKibben. The footnotes from Gillette Timeline try to link to primary sources wherever possible. Some of these are single-fact source in tax records or old ads. But the scanned issues of the Gillette Blade are worth looking into, and are freely available via google books.

For collectors, there was recent discussion at http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/343420-Razor-Books

Click to expand...

Mike, i have all of those books and links too. The info is very good. Maybe we can add some of it to the timeline.

Can we post stuff to look out for? I am really interested in accurately dating the original 20 blades sold with the early double ring sets and when that stopped and went to 12. If anyone notices in the ads.

I think this book will offer some new info:

http://www.calameo.com/books/000060773604c8278116f

shavefreak said:

Can we post stuff to look out for? I am really interested in accurately dating the original 20 blades sold with the early double ring sets and when that stopped and went to 12. If anyone notices in the ads.

Click to expand...

Yes, you can PM mike, or me if you need any help. If i cant help mike surely will. ( i am real busy lately but will chime in on my cell )

HerrHepcat said:

I think this book will offer some new info:

http://www.calameo.com/books/000060773604c8278116f

Click to expand...

This is a great link, thank you; i did not know about this book. Maybe it may contain stuff that we may need to solve many mysteries.

nice HerrHepcat, will be checking it out also.

HerrHepcat said:

I think this book will offer some new info:

http://www.calameo.com/books/000060773604c8278116f

Click to expand...

So I read this book and they state that they sold 51 Razor sets in 1903 and Nickerson in the Gillette blade says the first "commercial" shipment was in January 1904 consisting of 50 sets. This book also says they dropped the 20 razor blades to 12 in 1903. It is right on about the ads and had interesting facts on NY handling the customer shipments. Was not all stuff regurgitated from the Blade which is where most info seems to come from. I wonder if the commercial shipment is just that, sent to distributors and the other sales were just individual sets sold in 1903.

The original tin came with 20 blades and if that was changed in 1903 and if there are any 20 blade sets in leather they would also be 1903 models and most likely non serial numbered. However we know in late Feb of 1904 there were tin sets going out.

HerrHepcat said:

I think this book will offer some new info:

http://www.calameo.com/books/000060773604c8278116f

Click to expand...