Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Straight edge razor, circa 1885, used by Hugh Sullivan. Made by Tillotson Sheffield. Up until 1895 the straight edge razor was the go-to tool for a clean-shaven face.
Early New Rockford dentist Dr. Frank Norton was one of many who embraced the handlebar mustache.
Black and white photograph, 1933. The Whisker Club outside the Mattson Hotel: Steve Collis, Bud Nichols, A.G. Gardner, A.R. Hawkinson, M.E. Biggs, Warren Day, Charles Fay, Lloyd Austin, Oliver Rosenberg, E.P. Mattson, Fred Speck, M.C. Stensby, A.C. Olsen, Knut Vick, Louie Allmaras, Phil Besseliever, John Martinson, H.J. Olson, Tom Kellington, Forest Newbre, Lyan Scheoebel, Halver Halverson, Kenneth Gardner, Thomas Welsh, Joe Walsh, Sam Lyman, John Seekinger, W.A.N. Lang, Hugh Peoples, Guy Chance, H. Grinde, Peter Lies, Simonitz Jr., Cliff Donague, Alvin Halverson, N.J. Tillapaugh, John Johns, J. L. Prader, Mr. Klawitter, Andrew Johnson, S.O. Hoveskaland, Howard Stone, Simonitz Jr., Bill Bolinski, Mr. Simonitz, F.S. Dunham, Gordon Lee, A.W. Dahlquist, A.B. Ouren, A.L. Shllenberger, Wm. Gordon, Gust Pierson, Hendrick Odegard, F.F. Allmaras, N.J. Bothne, Frank Allmaras, John Lyman, John Clemin, H.W. Wilson, C.W. Shrock, A. Gunvoldson, Herman Allmaras, Henry Falk, Val Wagner, and J.V.N. Sundberg.
Have you ever shaved with a straight edge razor? Would you even know where to begin?
For much of history, the straight razor was the most effective option for those who wanted a smooth face. Perhaps this is why beards were commonly in fashion in the centuries leading up to modern times.
Change came in 1895, when King Gillette invented and began selling razors with disposable blades. These blades no longer required honing and were far safer. No longer would a clean shave be a risk of cuts and potential infection.
Germ theory continued to have a role to play. Amidst the height of tuberculosis infections, American doctor Edwin Bowers wrote in a 1916 issue of McClure's magazine, "There is no way of computing the number of bacteria and noxious germs that may lurk in the Amazonian jungles of a well-whiskered face, but their number must be legion. Measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, common and uncommon colds, and a host of other infectious diseases can be, and undoubtedly are, transmitted via the whisker route."
It was around the same time that President William Taft popularized the handlebar mustache. Interestingly enough, every U.S. president has been clean shaven since.
Soldiers in World War I found that excessive facial hair interfered with the proper seal of gas masks. Following the war, a clean-shaven face was the sign of a well-regimented man. The "baby face" look became dignified and respectable.
A clean shave became even more accessible when Jakob Schick invented the electric shaver in 1928.
When the Great Depression hit, a clean-shaven face was a must for anyone looking for work. So it is quite interesting to note that a select few chose to proudly put their whiskers on display.
The photo below shows 65 members of the Whisker Club posing in front the Mattson Hotel in 1933.
