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I've recently bought my first straight razor, a Kropp, so as a naturally curious chap I decided to do a bit of investigation into the brand with an idea to being able to perhaps find an approximate date for my razor.
So here is what I found out...enjoy!
Well the first thing I discovered is there is a distinct lack of information about the brand, finding any primary sources was a bit tricky and a lot of what non primary information is contradictory, so some of what follows is intelligent, well, guess work!
Well, from what I've found there are three distinct generations, as it were, of Kropp, ones with 'Made In Hamburg' on the reverse of the tang, those with 'Made In England Ground In Hamburg' and finally 'Made And Ground In Sheffield. Eng,'. This set me thinking that maybe this was a way of dating them. Looking at advertising from various period sources I was then able to find corresponding trends in the ads.
In the earliest adverts 1888 – 1896 they mention “Real German Hollow Groundâ€, the only mention of England was in the address of the wholesaler. Then after 1897 England or more specifically Sheffield starts to take equal billing, being mentioned in the main body copy of the advert, along with the continued mentioning of “German Hollow Groundâ€. This joint billing, as it were, continues until 1910 where on at least one ad from that year the mention of Germany was dropped, this might be due to changes in attitude towards Germany at the time perhaps. Other ads from 1910 did indeed still have the German connection so maybe this was a change over year.
Unfortunately I've so far been unable to find any Kropp adverts dating from 1911-1921, however they reappear in 1922, proudly stating “All Britishâ€. All future adverts continue this very British feel including a 1936 example that states, “The Navy of to-day's alright with the Kropp razorâ€, patriotic stuff that makes me believe they were very unlikely to have their razors of that period marked in any way other than in a similar manner.
Now I don't know if the Germany was dropped from the ads as it was less of a selling point in the period leading up to the First World War or if during this same period the razors were no longer being ground in Hamburg, but what does seem clear is that after 1922 the razors were sold heavily on being all British, so logic would follow that the ones marked “Made and Ground In Sheffield. Eng,†were likely to hail from this period.
So to sum up, I believe the three generations are as such….
1888-1896 Ground in Hamburg
1897-1910 (approx.) Made In England Ground In Hamburg
1919 (approx.)-1940 (approx.) Made And Ground In Sheffield. Eng,
As an aside, The Madrid Agreement of 1891 came into force in 1892 and meant that razors made after this date would not only have the town of manufacture but also the country of origin on them, so we can deduce that the early “Ground in Hamburg†blades pre this agreement. So this dates them to between 1888 and 1891.
During my searching I have discovered an earlier reference to Kropp razors in the October 1887 edition of the American newspaper “The Sunâ€, which references a gentleman by the name of Mr. Henry Gilsey returning from a European trip with a box of Kropp razors as a present for a friend. The logical conclusion is that they predate the first 1888 ad I was able to find.
That's it for now, off for more research!
So here is what I found out...enjoy!
Well the first thing I discovered is there is a distinct lack of information about the brand, finding any primary sources was a bit tricky and a lot of what non primary information is contradictory, so some of what follows is intelligent, well, guess work!
Well, from what I've found there are three distinct generations, as it were, of Kropp, ones with 'Made In Hamburg' on the reverse of the tang, those with 'Made In England Ground In Hamburg' and finally 'Made And Ground In Sheffield. Eng,'. This set me thinking that maybe this was a way of dating them. Looking at advertising from various period sources I was then able to find corresponding trends in the ads.
In the earliest adverts 1888 – 1896 they mention “Real German Hollow Groundâ€, the only mention of England was in the address of the wholesaler. Then after 1897 England or more specifically Sheffield starts to take equal billing, being mentioned in the main body copy of the advert, along with the continued mentioning of “German Hollow Groundâ€. This joint billing, as it were, continues until 1910 where on at least one ad from that year the mention of Germany was dropped, this might be due to changes in attitude towards Germany at the time perhaps. Other ads from 1910 did indeed still have the German connection so maybe this was a change over year.
Unfortunately I've so far been unable to find any Kropp adverts dating from 1911-1921, however they reappear in 1922, proudly stating “All Britishâ€. All future adverts continue this very British feel including a 1936 example that states, “The Navy of to-day's alright with the Kropp razorâ€, patriotic stuff that makes me believe they were very unlikely to have their razors of that period marked in any way other than in a similar manner.
Now I don't know if the Germany was dropped from the ads as it was less of a selling point in the period leading up to the First World War or if during this same period the razors were no longer being ground in Hamburg, but what does seem clear is that after 1922 the razors were sold heavily on being all British, so logic would follow that the ones marked “Made and Ground In Sheffield. Eng,†were likely to hail from this period.
So to sum up, I believe the three generations are as such….
1888-1896 Ground in Hamburg
1897-1910 (approx.) Made In England Ground In Hamburg
1919 (approx.)-1940 (approx.) Made And Ground In Sheffield. Eng,
As an aside, The Madrid Agreement of 1891 came into force in 1892 and meant that razors made after this date would not only have the town of manufacture but also the country of origin on them, so we can deduce that the early “Ground in Hamburg†blades pre this agreement. So this dates them to between 1888 and 1891.
During my searching I have discovered an earlier reference to Kropp razors in the October 1887 edition of the American newspaper “The Sunâ€, which references a gentleman by the name of Mr. Henry Gilsey returning from a European trip with a box of Kropp razors as a present for a friend. The logical conclusion is that they predate the first 1888 ad I was able to find.
That's it for now, off for more research!
