Found some OS and Colgate while on vacation. Of course I had go get the other items as well.
Vintage soap anyone?
- Thread starter TheDoughboy
- Start date
Sweet haul!
Courtesy of mountainsea I use this unknown English stick from the 1950's; It makes great lather!
This is my vintage shaving soap collection.
4 Williams Mug Soaps; 1 Williams Luxury Soap; 1 Colgate Mug Soap; 1 Colgate Cup Soap; 1 Colgate Barber Soap (no box); 2 Old Spice Shaving Soaps; 2 Yardley Shaving Soap Bowls (the one on the left is unused).
I'd say my favorite of the lot so far is the Yardley's, Williams second. I have some vintage Williams on the way as well, and then I am taking a acquisition restraint hiatus before I get addicted
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Some more pics:
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4 Williams Mug Soaps; 1 Williams Luxury Soap; 1 Colgate Mug Soap; 1 Colgate Cup Soap; 1 Colgate Barber Soap (no box); 2 Old Spice Shaving Soaps; 2 Yardley Shaving Soap Bowls (the one on the left is unused).
I'd say my favorite of the lot so far is the Yardley's, Williams second. I have some vintage Williams on the way as well, and then I am taking a acquisition restraint hiatus before I get addicted
.Some more pics:
View attachment 570188View attachment 570189View attachment 570190
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LOVE Yardley! Excellent PIF, I'm most certainly in! 
Excellent PIF, I'm most certainly in!
Not sure I said anything about that, lol.
And last but not least: Currier and Ives Shaving Bowl by Williams:
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Now that Williams bowl is certainly cool! Ahhh to be back when you could just go buy one would be even better!
I've often thought the same thing. Imagine a time when you could just walk down to the corner store and pick up a puck of your choosing, Williams, Old Spice, Yardley's, etc... Nothing today compares.
Nothing especially rare. Found a puck of Williams and Colgate yesterday.
I've been on a vintage soap kick this month, experiencing great shaves from tallow Trumper, C&E Mysore Sandalwood and this week has been some vintage Floris.
Great soap: I have been using one myself recently. As far as I know there are no specific guidelines for placing these, but I think yours is post-WWII and no later than 1977. A better shot of the label might help: details varied, and sometimes a store owner would add a price in pencil. From what I can see I would guess fairly late in that range, say ca. 1965-1977.
Originally it came with a rose scent, and I have had good results re-scenting one of mine. Is the plastic retaining ring intact, or has it broken? If it is intact but the soap wobbles, you may be able to fix that by wrapping the bottom with a little kitchen foil. If the ring is broken... superglue?
Once you finish the Williams soap you can also reuse the holder with modern soaps. I have Arko in another one: the diameter is larger, so the ring is unnecessary. Valobra might also work. Narrower sticks such as Speick or Palmolive might work with the ring and maybe some extra foil.
Here are two of mine with the parts separated, showing some differences. I think the one on top is older: darker red, metal retaining ring, and some subtle differences in the cap.
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This is my vintage shaving soap collection.
View attachment 570187
4 Williams Mug Soaps; 1 Williams Luxury Soap; 1 Colgate Mug Soap; 1 Colgate Cup Soap; 1 Colgate Barber Soap (no box); 2 Old Spice Shaving Soaps; 2 Yardley Shaving Soap Bowls (the one on the left is unused).
I'd say my favorite of the lot so far is the Yardley's, Williams second. I have some vintage Williams on the way as well, and then I am taking a acquisition restraint hiatus before I get addicted
Some more pics:
View attachment 570188View attachment 570189View attachment 570190
View attachment 570191
I have that black labeled Yardley myself as well as the one with the big "Y" on the bowl. Both absolutely top-notch, excellent lather makers. My other vintage soaps are C&E "Mysore Sandlewood", the more recent "Nomad" (the only thing vintage really is the name), an extinct Culmak and a Ralph Lauren "Safari". They all perform above par.
Yardley! 
One of these day's I'll walk into the right shop, and there will be a lifetime supply of it waiting for me!
One of these day's I'll walk into the right shop, and there will be a lifetime supply of it waiting for me!
after long search, finally found an english leather soap bowl. came complete with unused puck that had lots of scent still left.
Why can't company's just make a small run of these things they used to do? I bet if they did, a lot of people may change their minds about how they shave, and seek more of these things out. I bet the companies would probably see enough reason to keep their soaps going to.
Great score by the way!
Great score by the way!
Two more found while checking out another antique store. Note the price marked on the Williams.
People seem to love old Colgate, good one
