As part of our movember tribute, we must mention King Camp Gillette, born on January 5th, 1855. Though, contrary to popular knowledge he was not actually the inventor of the safety razor, he merely invented a better version than the ones currently being used which used a thin, disposable blade. He died on July 9, 1932. You can read more about him at Britannica.com/KCG. And yes, his name still lives on with "Gillette" razors - in fact one of their latest brands is named after him, as The King C. Gillette brand
Six years after his death, along came our card. And in case you are puzzled over the connection between a razor and a set of boxing cards, it was because their razor was called "The Knock-Out" - and the packaging featured a boxing image on both the box and the sleeves in which the blades came.
The set is very well done, though only monochrome, which some may find disappointing. It does feature some very well known pugilists though, modern ones like Jack Dempsey , Joe Louis, and Max Schmeling - and some from the dawn of the sport like James Corbett, Tom Spring and Bill Neat. There is also a mix of art drawn cards (the early images) and photographs (the more modern ones) - perhaps that is the reason why the monochrome was chosen.
There is one curious anomaly, as only one of the cards, the Frenchman Gustave Humery, No.44, is horizontal in format, all the rest are vertical. Yet if you look at his online biographies there are pictures of him standing up. So why did the makers not search a little harder for one that matched the rest?
As for our man, Isaac Perrins, it is quite a sad story. He seems to have been a gentle giant of a man, who worked for Boulton and Watt, the steam engine makers at the same time he was a bareknuckle boxer. His father had also worked there. After retiring from boxing he ran a public house, and in 1799 became the lead man of the Manchester Fire Brigade. Just over twelve months later, he was involved in the attempt to fight a huge warehouse fire that burned, unstoppable, all through the night of the 10th of December 1800, and on the 29th of that month he was awarded £20 a year for his efforts, but it is doubtful he ever recieved a payment, as he died on January 6th, 1801, aged just fifty, he died, as a direct result of exertion, and fever, both caused through the fire. There is a sad subtext to this, as his beloved wife had died just a few months earlier, and there is a strong suspicion that perhaps he took those extra efforts so that they not be parted long.
The set is first catalogued in our original British Trade Index, with an informative header, as :
F. C. CARTLEDGE, Hornsea and Sheffield.
Cards issued 1938-42. Includes cards inscribed "Knock-Out" Razor Blades, without name of firm.
Two sets are listed, Epigrams, and ours, which is listed as :
FAMOUS PRIZE FIGHTERS. Sm. 66 x 36. Black. Nd. (50), two subjects at No.13 (Eric Boon and William Thompson) and 19 (Arthur Danahar and Bill Doherty) ...CCL-2
There is another discovery reported in our original British Trade Index part III, namely
CCL-2 (Famous Prize Fighters). Fronts are found matt or glazed to cream shade.
When our four original Trade Indexes were updated into one volume, for the year 2000, the text had tidied quite a bit. It now reads :
Fred C. CARTLEDGE (Sheffield) Ltd,. Hull, Hornsea and Sheffield
Issued 1938-42. Includes brand issues "Knock-Out" Razor Blades and Rheuma SaltsFAMOUS PRIZE FIGHTERS. 1938. 66 x 36. Black. Nd. (50). Fronts (a) matt (b) glazed. Two subjects at No. 13 (a) Eric Boon (b)William Thompson) and No.19 (a) Arthur Danahar (b) Bill Doherty. Album issued ...CAR-540