Kirby Beard meets Gillette

So what do you think Gents? Did Kirby Beard connect up with Gillette for this dragon themed Traveler set? Strange to see these 2 companies working together. Gillette blade banks and blades. And maybe they also supplied the soap & brush canisters. And the dragon (or some kind of gargoyle) on the exterior... Anyone ever see anything like that before?



Sure looks to be the real thing -- a partnership in creating an unusual set.



What do you think?Is it a dragon? And you can read the "Gillette Blades" engraved on the blade bank. And that classy and classic Kirby Beard razor. Very nice shaver.




So here's the real thing -- or is it? I've never seen these companies join up and certainly never have I seen this extra device on the exterior of the leather shaving cases. A commemorative? A gift set? Or some sort of custom job? In any case, it is a unique and very enjoyable set.

WOW! That looks... Expensive. :-D

Pretty, though.

Flippin' 'eck that's a cool razor head!

I saw that listing. Did not attract any attention and went for very cheap. I recall seeing another razor though.

Nice score.

Very nice!

Beautiful & historically significant.
Sigh.
Why am I always on the outside looking in?

nuclearblast said:

I saw that listing. Did not attract any attention and went for very cheap. I recall seeing another razor though.

Nice score.

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Truly a relatively inexpensive set. But I still am not sure how the partnership between Gillette and Kirby Beard came about & what else they did together. And that dragon on the case... Very unusual design. And classy.

chamm said:

WOW! That looks... Expensive. :-D

Pretty, though.

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Surprisingly inexpensive chamm.

I saw that set also, but I guess I didn't look at the pictures closely. Now I'm kicking myself for missing it...

Several members noticed that the auction from which this set was purchased showed a different razor than the one I used in my earlier photos. That's because the razor this set arrived with is too small to be the correct razor for this case. And it's not obviously a Kirby Beard razor. But here's a few images showing the original razor in the case.


Looks to be a silver plated razor, rather than the more usual chrome plated KBs. And you can see it's smaller than the space available for the razor.


You can see how much better my KB razor fits in the case. Now perhaps it was initially sold with a Gillette razor, but the KB fits quite well. And who knows...

The original razor is the smaller of these 2. And is in serious need of a polishing.
And for those serial number experts who may be able to find a date and other particulars when they see the serial number, here's what I've got.


And notice the "G"within the "D" stamped under the head assembly. This was a mark used on Gillettes when they were made to be exported to Europe. So who made this razor and what is the mark about?

In any case, just for the record, you can see the razor I think would have been included in this set. And also the razor that was included in the set when it was sold to me.

Beautiful razor!

I might very well be wrong here, but I don't think a Kirby razor came in that set, most likely a Gillette.

The handle may not be original, but the head is clearly Gillette and the serial # dates it to 1909, and everything including the containers and blade sleeves match that period.

Also that Kirby razor, especially being a safety bar design, was it produced so early? I always thought Kirby were from the 30s, 40s, which wouldn't match the age of the rest of the set at all ... but I know very little about the company, and if I am wrong please correct me as I'd like to learn more about them.

nuclearblast said:

I might very well be wrong here, but I don't think a Kirby razor came in that set, most likely a Gillette.

The handle may not be original, but the head is clearly Gillette and the serial # dates it to 1909, and everything including the containers and blade sleeves match that period.

Also that Kirby razor, especially being a safety bar design, was it produced so early? I always thought Kirby were from the 30s, 40s, which wouldn't match the age of the rest of the set at all ... but I know very little about the company, and if I am wrong please correct me as I'd like to learn more about them.

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I've had all but one of the known Kirby Beards and at least a half dozen Leresche DE's. These were my favorites before moving on to straights and I still pay attention to their history and value even though I no longer use or own them.

There seems to be general agreement that Leresche made the Kirby Beards, but this is the first I've seen of either of those names coupled with Gillette. Leresche was certainly making razors early enough for a 1909 serial numbered date (Here's a link to an1899 patent letter from Jules Leresche), and the Kirby Beard firm from Gloucestershire dates its history back to at least the 1he 1850's and is the most important of the pin making firms. I've seen no evidence at all that they made their own razors.

Anything is possible and the existence of this set suggests all sorts of scenarios. Did this predate the agreement that KBC had with Leresche? Was this box simply a demo for a pitch that Gillette made to get KBC make razors for them? Who knows. I find it hard to imagine the better shops in Paris selling Gillette branded products, but that may explain why there are so few of these. It could have been a failed marketing idea that was quickly pulled and, over time, the sets broken up.

Thanks for posting this Jake.

oakeshott said:

I've had all but one of the known Kirby Beards and at least a half dozen Leresche DE's. These were my favorites before moving on to straights and I still pay attention to their history and value even though I no longer use or own them.

There seems to be general agreement that Leresche made the Kirby Beards, but this is the first I've seen of either of those names coupled with Gillette. Leresche was certainly making razors early enough for a 1909 serial numbered date (Here's a link to an1899 patent letter from Jules Leresche), and the Kirby Beard firm from Gloucestershire dates its history back to at least the 1he 1850's and is the most important of the pin making firms. I've seen no evidence at all that they made their own razors.

Anything is possible and the existence of this set suggests all sorts of scenarios. Did this predate the agreement that KBC had with Leresche? Was this box simply a demo for a pitch that Gillette made to get KBC make razors for them? Who knows. I find it hard to imagine the better shops in Paris selling Gillette branded products, but that may explain why there are so few of these. It could have been a failed marketing idea that was quickly pulled and, over time, the sets broken up.

Thanks for posting this Jake.

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I understand, Mark. I also know the company has a long history, and actually started in 1743.

It's just that I think the razor (the Kirby - and any safety bar for that matter) doesn't match the age of the set. For all we know, Gillette came up with the first safety bar design in 1938, with the Tech. Of course this only matters if indeed the set came with a Gillette razor, which I think it did.

I just don't see it, any other razor in a set all Gillette branded, but as I said I can perfectly be wrong.

This could well be wrong, as you guys clearly know better than I, but I thought the "G" within "D" mark was used to indicate a razor that had been repaired under warranty, and thus was no longer covered under warranty.

chamm said:

This could well be wrong, as you guys clearly know better than I, but I thought the "G" within "D" mark was used to indicate a razor that had been repaired under warranty, and thus was no longer covered under warranty.

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That theory never made much sense, Craig ... and it's not what experts like Porter and Mike believe. Also I am pretty sure we have seen NOS sets with that mark.

The G in D mark was a requirement imposed by the French government, for silver and gold plated razors. I believe it was Porter that once said that the repaired razors were stamped with a second serial #, or something like that.

Found a comment:

MacDaddy said:

I've seen people say that, too, but I've never seen anything I would consider reliable. Most of those people seem to be confusing that with the "L" series serial numbers that Krumholz has documented as a repair mark.

The one thing I've noticed is that most, if not all, of the razors I have with the mark I've gotten from people in Europe.

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NOS set here

This is excellent information. I've seen it so many times that I just never really questioned it. But as I think back to where I saw it, it was usually from sellers on eBay, and we all know how reliable that information is.

nuclearblast said:

I might very well be wrong here, but I don't think a Kirby razor came in that set, most likely a Gillette.

The handle may not be original, but the head is clearly Gillette and the serial # dates it to 1909, and everything including the containers and blade sleeves match that period.

Also that Kirby razor, especially being a safety bar design, was it produced so early? I always thought Kirby were from the 30s, 40s, which wouldn't match the age of the rest of the set at all ... but I know very little about the company, and if I am wrong please correct me as I'd like to learn more about them.

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Very nice set, Jake. However I agree that the handle is a substitute, even though the head may be original to the set. The serial is from the latter part of the B series, probably ca. 1910 and made in Boston, and marked with G-in-D for the French market.

The Kirby-Beard name on the case is probably explained by this advert (via Achim) with the same "5 rue Auber" address. I am not sure when the relationship between Gillette and Kirby-Beard ended, but they were still advertising Gillette razors as late as 1920 — and probably as late as the 1921 introduction of the New Improved.

Very cool. Thanks for the photos and the history lesson.

Great info there!

Also interesting to know Kirby offered a full reimbursement in case the clients weren't happy with their Gillette razors.