A rare lawyer’s occupational shaving mug was bid to an impressive $7,762 at Wayne Yoder’s April 16 sale at the DeForest Comfort Inn. The successful bidder told the Wautoma, Wis.,-based auctioneer that he planned to give it to his grandson who is graduating from law school. “The best attorney’s mug I’ve ever seen,” according to Yoder, it featured well-executed graphics with a scale of justice in the background and an attorney at his desk. Other occupations may be more rare, but perhaps do not pay as well.
Yoder hosted the auction of occupational shaving mugs, populating it with examples from a Long Island estate collection and others in Illinois and Minnesota. All of the mugs from the Long Island consignor were fresh to the market, according to the auctioneer. The sale was not a big one in terms of attendance, said Yoder, with about 60 in the saleroom and twice as many Internet bidders. Overall, he said he was satisfied, however, with the results. “Prices were strong, and the lower end did better than expected,” he said.
As a category, occupational shaving mugs turn back the clock to the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century. They flourished from about 1880 to 1920, stemming from a perceived need to prevent diseases related to shaving. Turn-of the-century barbers would keep a separate shaving mug for each of their regular patrons. Some were identified with the customer’s name or a number, but a decorative iconography eventually sprang up with mugs being decorated with a picture representing the customer’s profession or primary tools.
The examples that have survived represent a wide range of occupations †doctor, lawyer, grocer, dentist, postman †and some honor fraternal organizations or pay homage to leisure activities and sports, such as golfing and baseball.
Yoder’s sale assembled more than 100 occupational mugs and featured rare and interesting examples that ranged from the mundane to macabre †there was a motorized hearse mug, for example, from Germany that had a fitting black wrap.
One example that received fitting interest and a good price to boot was an occupational mug depicting an auctioneer. Marked Germany on the bottom, it was chased by four phone bidders (all auctioneers) and sold for $4,945 to a past president of the National Auctioneers Association. Quipped Yoder when asked if he himself had coveted the rare example †”I tell people the only thing I like to collect is greenbacks.”
A rare occupation †a movie theater projectionist †was depicted with a fantastic illustration on a mug with detail so great that the star of the film †Charlie Chaplin †could be discerned. The mug, marked KPM Germany on the bottom, realized $4,715.
Provenance helped a golfer mug attain $3,450. A very rare occupational mug belonging to the famous circa 1900 golfer AH Findley, who also designed golf clubs, courses and more, came with accompanying newspaper clippings and advertising.
With Richmond, Ind., and the company name visible on the tractor, a rare steam tractor example with Limoges mark on the bottom, powered to $3,565.
Some other uncommon examples included a water wagon with an exceptional illustration and T&V France on the bottom, which made $3,220, and the aforementioned motorized hearse, which finished at $2,760.
Although the mugs were the main attraction, they shared the bidding stage with other antique barbershop memorabilia. The sale’s top lot, in fact, was not a mug but a rare carved cat barber’s chair designed for a child. From the early 1900s and made by a carousel manufacturer, the 4-foot-long, possibly one-of-a-kind cat with glass eyes must have been loved by kids, who would have presented a challenge to the barber by putting it into rocking motion. “It was totally complete except for the missing back,” said Yoder. It sold for $26,450 to a phone bidder from Pennsylvania.
Other non-mug highlights included a 100-mug barbershop cabinet measuring 7 feet 11 inches tall without the top carvings. From a Staunton, Ill., barbershop, the three section cabinet made $3,163. Also notable were some examples of advertising, including a Panama Canal shaving mug sign, 19 by 28 inches for $4,600 and a J. Holzanger, N.Y., paper shaving mug sign, 18 by 25 inches, which sold for $4,025.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, 920-787-5549 or www.wyoderauction.com .
