There is Gillette advertising from around 1909 stating that they had factories in Paris and Berlin. At least one advert showed illustrations of the buildings involved, which were of substantial size. If the factories in Paris and Berlin did produce razors, what would be the indications on the actual razors that would tell us that they were actually made in those countries?
Pre WW1 Gillette razors made in Paris or Berlin?
- Thread starter GBinOZ
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Which advert do you have in mind?
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...-British-Patent-Numbers?p=6110429#post6110429 has my take on this. I tend to think Paris made a few blades, and Berlin was simply a sales office. But others may know more. Achim would seem to be in an especially good position to find out about any early Gillette operations in Berlin.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...-British-Patent-Numbers?p=6110429#post6110429 has my take on this. I tend to think Paris made a few blades, and Berlin was simply a sales office. But others may know more. Achim would seem to be in an especially good position to find out about any early Gillette operations in Berlin.
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Yes, i agree, it seems that Berlin was a sales office.
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Looking closely at that catalogue illustration, it appears to be the ultimate in creative advertising. The illustration for France shows a what lloks very much like a factory complete with smoke stack, but the partially displayed building in the foreground seems to be the actual Gilllette building. And the German illustration looks very much like an office block - not a smoke stack to be seen anywhere.
I am persuaded that the Gillette "factories" in Paris and Berlin did not actually produce razors. Does anyone concur with this conclusion?
I am persuaded that the Gillette "factories" in Paris and Berlin did not actually produce razors. Does anyone concur with this conclusion?
If you look at the full sized image (cropped below) it's easier to see that the sign on the main building in the picture of the French factory is drawn with a sign reading "Gillette Safety Razor Company," as well as the one in the foreground from as little as is shown of that.
On the German factory, I wouldn't personally conclude a whole lot from that one image (full-sized crop below). You could just as easily look at the Canadian factory and say the exact same thing, but we know that they had significant razor production there.
I don't believe they did either, at least I've not yet seen any evidence at all that they did. For the purposes of "working the patent," though, it may have been sufficient for them to manufacture just blades locally, which could be done in a relatively small footprint -- rolls of steel going in and stamping, sharpening, and packaging being done on site.
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