Historic personal Tiffany & Co. travel shaving kit of King Camp Gillette, inventor of the double-edged safety razor and founder of The Gillette Company, which revolutionized the shaving and personal grooming industry with its brand of safety razors and personal care products upon its establishment in 1901. This unique kit dates to approximately 1904-1906 and is comprised of its attractive sterling silver Tiffany & Co. case, 2.5˝ x 3.5˝ x 1˝, with the front handsomely stamped with Gillette’s monogram, and containing a 23-karat gold-plated Single Ring razor, with the head ornately engraved and bearing Gillette’s initials, “KCG,” a shaving brush with protective tube, and a stick of shaving soap. The kit includes its original light green Tiffany & Co. carrying bag and a “Gillette Blue Blade” razor blade. In overall fine condition, with light wear and dents to the case.
The single ring style of this safety razor dates to the early 1900s to 1920s, a prolific and important time for the Gillette brand, which had successfully usurped the popularity of straight razors after the U.S. military issued Gillette shaving kits to every American serviceman. By the close of World War I, the company had convinced millions of their razor’s efficacy, with sales rising to an estimated 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades. Gillette’s sales reached new heights by 1925, in large part due to their affordable ‘brownie’ razors and the company’s overseas expansion that introduced the brand to a new global audience. Today, Gillette boasts more than 800 million consumers in over 170 countries, trusting their personal grooming needs to the company, and making Gillette the #1 shaving brand in the world.
Originating from the Gillette family archives, this shaving kit represents a one-of-a-kind artifact, never mass-produced for public purchase, and was made exclusively for King Gillette’s daily use and for his travels around the world. While the Gillette company would later make product showpieces featuring the “KCG” monogram, these were never used by King and were owned by the company as advertising pieces. No razor personally owned or used by King Gillette has ever come to market until now, a distinction that elevates this item into a true museum-quality showpiece, the shaving equivalent to a Leo Fender guitar, a Samuel Colt pistol, or a Henry Ford automobile.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the consignor, whose father, professional genealogist and historian James Winter Petty, was gifted this shaving kit by Gillette’s nephew, George Trofast Gillette, with whom he worked closely during the 1970s. The letter reads, in part: “George was not only a client but also a close friend and cousin (distant) of my father, and he gave my father numerous gifts over the years including upon his passing in 1977, when he bequeathed a significant portion of his estate to my father. This included a wealth of family memorabilia, artwork, antiques, and personal items, several of which belonged to King Camp Gillette himself, items that George had received directly from his uncle.
Among these cherished items was King’s personal razor kit, a unique artifact made around 1904-1906. It is believed to be an early prototype of the gold-plated single ring razor, and the kit/case itself was specifically crafted by Tiffany & Co. This kit, monogrammed with King’s initials, was never mass-produced and remains the only known example of its kind.”
