Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0023116, Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:41:14 -0400

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Line 130 and shaving
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Wilkinson (Sword) blades weren't marketed in the US until the late 60s or
70s. The Gillette Blue Blade was ubiquitous in its tv advertising (along with
ads for the new canned shaving creams--Shade's "Our Cream"), especially for
boxing and other sporting events. At the time it virtually had a corner in
the razor blade market. There may have been other double-edge blades at the
time (Pal?), but Gillette was "king." "Gillette blade" may have indeed been
some kind of arcane code for "bisexual," but virtually every male in the US
used Blue Blades (and the later stainless versions) at one time or another.
As I recall, the "Schick Injector" was one of the first high-tech rivals to
the Blue Blade, and throughout the late 50s the new electric razors were
heavily marketed ("Norelco, with the floating heads"). I recall mentioning
that, soon after the debut of the double-blade (not edge) shaver, Saturday Night
Live (c. 1975) ran a parody commercial for a three-blade razor, with the
sardonic slogan "Because you'll fall for anything." And in my bathroom, right
now, is a four-blade Gillette disposable shaver. And I have a beard, too
(though not a full shave in almost 40 years)!

One other thing: the "ancient Gillette" was anything but ergonomic. With a
full face of lather and slippery hands, it was very hard to hold on to.
Shade's description of his daily shave (in his bathtub with the mirror)
indicates that cuts were common, and going off to work with one or two small pieces
of tissue sticking to the wounds was common enough. My dad introduced me
to the "styptic pencil," which was a nice accessory to any young man's
shaving kit. Of course none of this applies to the "Great Beaver."

We also had an earlier discussion about a type of mustache known as a
"Newport frill," if memory serves. That was very hard to track down.

RSG

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