Razor Blade Labels^391Some celebrities collect paintings
and others, sculptures. Aga Kahn,
Persian billionaire and husband to
1940 s movie star Rita Hayworth,
was a razor blade wrapper
collector. Given his untold wealth,
he could have anything in the
world—in fact, each year he was
literally presented with his weight
in gold and diamonds—yet in
addition to cars, homes, and art, he was inexplicably drawn to the graphics
of an inexpensive, everyday commodity. Filling scores of bulging albums
with blade wrappers from around the globe, he amassed what may be the
largest collection of its kind (part of which is currently held by the
Wolfsonian Institution in Miami, Florida). But he was not alone. During
the 1920 s, 1930 s, and 1940 s, razor blade wrappers were among the most
sought-after ephemerally designed objects of consumer culture. And it is
safe to say that even with the thousands that Aga Kahn amassed, he did
not collect them all.
The safety razor and blade was more convenient than the
straightedge and strop, and caused fewer cuts, too. So, since the
introduction of the double-edge blade in the late nineteenth century, and
its widespread adoption during the twentieth, every industrial country prior
to the age of multinational conglomerates produced its own unique brands.
Nonetheless, the product was always based on the same form. The classic
double-edge blade—made from thinly stamped steel and designed with
slots on the front that could be snugly sandwiched between the tight-fitting
layers of the razor—had not changed during much of the century, until the
advent of the double- and triple-blade cartridges of today’s “super razors.”
At the outset, therefore, little distinguished one blade from the next,
although Swedish steel was a grade above German steel, which was
thought to be more durable than Italian steel. Yet in truth, most were made
at the same few foundries and exported to hundreds of companies that
packaged and distributed them.
The key factor that distinguished one blade from another was the
brand name and the package design. Like cigarettes, razor blades were