Franklin Toiletry
Barbershop Old Fashioned Luxury
Franklin Toiletry Co., headquartered at 76 9th Ave NYC, sold the “Barbershop Old Fashioned Luxury” line of wet-shaving products. As far as I can tell, they were founded somewhere between the late 60s and mid 70s and they went out of business in the early 1980s. The copyright stamp on this box is dated 1976. The ‘Barbershop’ series of products included brushes, mugs, and decanters; shaving soaps, shave gear stands, gift sets, etc.
This gift set is like new, unused and in better than excellent condition.
The finger jointed wood box is very clean; the brass hinges and clasp work fine. The plastic insert is undamaged, but a little dusty. The logo on the top of the box may actually have been ‘burned’ in, as opposed to painted or ink stamped.
The regular scent shave soap is tallow based, and well loved by wet-shaving enthusiasts. The soap is unused, and fully wrapped inside the box that also contains a small order form for purchasing more soap. The soap puck weighs 3.5 oz. The box itself is like new, I think I was the first person to open it.
The boar bristle barber-style shaving brush is unused. The finish on the wood is like new and the logo on the side is legible with only a bit of box-wear in one place. These logos were screened on, and they’re usually badly worn – I’ve never seen one this clean, it can only be because this brush was never used.
The ceramic shaving mug has an opening that measures 3.5” across, and the mug stands 3.25” tall. This is not a very heavy mug, but it is big and it does have some ‘heft’ to it. This is a serious mug with great presence in the bathroom or as a display piece.
I am fairly certain that the mug and the soap were manufactured in the USA. I’ve seen these mugs with stamped that way, and I once read the soap was made here too. The brush, I believe, was manufactured in Europe. Years ago I had a few NOS Barbershop brushes and I seem to remember that those boxes were printed ‘Made in Austria’ on their sides. Whatever the case – those brushes were excellent and this one here is the same exact item, without the individual packaging.
Wet Shaving gift sets are rarely seen intact, let alone in almost brand-new condition like this.
