RECOMMENDED BOOKS (so far)

Book on shaving:

"A History of Shaving and Razors" by Phillip L. Krumholz

ISBN 0962098701

This unfortunately out of print book is like the holy grail for the history of shaving. The book first gives the background of shaving from Stone Age times in which beard removal involved painfully plucking hair (The earliest shaving tools were made of stone from the Neolithic Period or the Late Stone Age.) through the development of straight razors in various cultures, using various metals, through King Camp Gillette's invention of the safety razor in 1901 and it's development into the 1980s. The forerunner of the electric shaver was a wind-up safety razor patented in 1910 by Willis G. Shockey. The first commercially successful electric shaver was developed by Col. Jacob Schick in 1928.

After the section on the history of shaving, there is a very generous listing of brand names of various shaving devices marketed over the years which takes up most of the book. They include straight razors, safety razors, shaving accessories, and electric shavers. They includes descriptions, some illustrations, and short articles on key figures in shaving history including Mr. Gillette and Col. Schick. This book is indispensable for collectors of shaving equipment.

"Value Guide for Barberiana & Shaving Collectibles" by Phillip L. Krumholz

ISBN 0-9620987-1-X

Also out of print, this is a price guide for barber shop equipment and shaving collectables. It includes four pages of electric shavers and clippers.

Books related to electric shaver companies:

Remington Products Company

"Going for It!" How to Succeed as an Entrepreneur by Victor Kiam

ISBN 0-688-06060-9

This book by the man who bought Remington in 1978 and saved the company gives his story on how a born salesman succeeded in the business world. Kiam not only tells how he did it, but also tells how anyone can do it.

Philips Electronics N.V. (Philishave/Norelco)

"Philishave--Generations of shaving excellence" compiled by Sergio Derks

ISBN 90-804512-1-5

Published by Sergio Derks Tekstproducties, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in association with Philips Domestic Appliances & Personal Care B.V., Groningen, The Netherlands. © 1998 Philips DAP Groningen/ Sergio Derks Tekstproducties, Eindhoven.

This is a marvelous book about the history of Philishave and Norelco shavers with several illustrations of shavers, promotional material, advertisements and the manufacturing facilities. Yet, as this book reveals, the Philishave shaver almost did not make it into the marketplace. Even after it was introduced in 1939, World War II limited its production due to material shortages. But Philishave would have a bright future after the war.

"45 Years with Philips" An industrialist's life by Frederik Philips

ISBN 0 7137 0931 6

The nephew of the founder of Philips tells the story of how a small light bulb factory in Eindhoven, Holland (started in 1891) became a world electronics giant with the help of his father. Only a tiny part of this book deals with the development of the Philishave electric shaver, but it does show the author's concern about costs in developing and marketing a double headed shaver. The increase in production costs was only less than two and a half guilders. The most fascinating portion of the book was the World War II period and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. How Frederik Philips endured during this period, which included periods of hiding and captivity--while keeping groomed with an experimental two-head Philishave, and how the company, its staff and the people of Holland, endured under German occupation was my favorite part of the book. Dr. Philips was instrumental in saving several Jewish women by training them to work at a Philips workshop in Vught which the German trustees (Verwalters) asked him to set up. The skills Philips gave them proved too valuable for the Nazis to murder after they were deported to Germany.

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