Yardley the real deal?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:28 pm

I spotted this. I wonder just how old it is, and whether it would even lather after all these years.

Straight Arrow · Post by **Straight Arrow** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:47 pm

Probably from the 50s. And yes, it will lather like gangbusters.

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:47 pm

I don't know the date, but that looks like the real deal. Is there any scent left? Even if there isn't, it should still shave fine. It is reported to shave as good or better than anything currently on the market today.

Clint

suffolksupplies · Post by **suffolksupplies** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:54 pm

I would say early 40's, late 30's. I have one almost identical with a Royal warrant that confirms this date. My one has an advert for the aftershave lotion inside the lid instead of the hair tonic.

The lather is excellent, the scent is almost gone, very faint Lavender but still pleasant. As you can still see the yardley stamped on the soap it hasn't been used much either.

The later 50's/60's bowls don't have the knob, just a flat lid.

Regards,

Paul

never2close · Post by **never2close** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:02 pm

So good buddy, would you like to sell it and start the year with a c note in your pocket?

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:04 pm

It's pretty old as that's the Prince of Wales Warrant on it and it mentions the hair tonic on the reverse of the lid. However ( rightly or wrongly ) Yardley continued to use the Prince's Warrant long after he had become The Duke of Windsor. So, it's hard to say. It could be from anytime from the '30s up throught some time in the '50s. I tend to think that the latter part of that span is more likely. I have one that looks just like that and although it has lost it's scent, it still produces lather at least as good as anything being made today.
Regards,
Gordon

suffolksupplies · Post by **suffolksupplies** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:33 am

Interesting, officially warrants can only be used up to 5 years after the Prince or King has died or abdicated.

Here is a picture of the 1957 vintage soap:

Regards,

Paul

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:27 am

Paul, So they say...at least today. But Yardley went ahead and did it anyway. And they weren't the only ones. I have Trumper catalogues from the 1980s that still show bottles with George VI's Warrant on them.
Regards,
Gordon

suffolksupplies · Post by **suffolksupplies** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:19 pm

As there was no one to give the title to at the time perhaps they were allowed to use it untill 1958.

Is there another way to date the soaps? My bowl has an advert on the bottom for their after shaving lotion, lavender toilet soap, Invisible talc & Brilliantines hair tonic. Were all these products available in the 30's?

Paul

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:06 pm

Paul, Only very approximately. The bowls with a raised knob in the center of the lid are older then the ones without it, And the ones where they pitch the hair lotion on the reverse side of the lid are generally older than where they mention A/S etc. But it's difficult to be more precise than that, as they used that green and black label and the Prince of Wales Warrant on their Lavender shave soaps for many, many years. And, an interesting aside; past some point in the later '50s the Yardley sold in the US did not carry any Royal Warrants, even though the firm still held two ( The Queen and The Queen Mum ). I don't know if this had to do with the terms of the licensee agreement, or what.
Regards,
Gordon

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:57 pm

never2close wrote:So good buddy, would you like to sell it and start the year with a c note in your pocket?

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. It's not mine to sell, otherwise you would have had it yesterday! I see it on ebay right now, it's up to $41, and it ends tonight. I'll be watching to see how much it ultimately brings, but am not selling it and I'm not bidding on it. I would never use it, I'd probably end up breaking even or losing money, if I wanted to buy it for it's sentimental value or unfortunately, trying to buy it so I could turn around and sell or trade it in order to make a profit. I respectfully suggest that if you want it, you could put in a bid for that amount, and you'd probably wind up buying it for somewhere between $60 and $100. It is interesting to read the discussion on these forums, though. Good luck if you decide to bid on it.

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:19 pm

I'm bidding on it....but man, it's really getting up there in price.

never2close · Post by **never2close** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:18 pm

brothers wrote:
never2close wrote:So good buddy, would you like to sell it and start the year with a c note in your pocket?
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. It's not mine to sell, otherwise you would have had it yesterday! I see it on ebay right now, it's up to $41, and it ends tonight. I'll be watching to see how much it ultimately brings, but am not selling it and I'm not bidding on it. I would never use it, I'd probably end up breaking even or losing money, if I wanted to buy it for it's sentimental value or unfortunately, trying to buy it so I could turn around and sell or trade it in order to make a profit. I respectfully suggest that if you want it, you could put in a bid for that amount, and you'd probably wind up buying it for somewhere between $60 and $100. It is interesting to read the discussion on these forums, though. Good luck if you decide to bid on it.

Thanks for the info. For some reason I'm having trouble finding it on Ebay. Would you be so kind as to provide the link? Thanks in advance.
Note-- I found it with 90 minutes to go. Let's see how high
it goes. Thanks.

Churchill · Post by **Churchill** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:02 pm

At one time I had both versions of the old Yardley shave soap.The one being sold in the ebay auction and the newer version with the white label and the large black,red and gold "Y" on it. I felt the newer version performed much better than the old one so I sold it. For 15 bucks,looking at the ebay auction maybe I should have held on to it a little longer.

koeos · Post by **koeos** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:51 am

I bought a few of these a couple of years ago on eBay for under $10 before people started to lose their minds over it. LOL.

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:58 am

Yeah, while I would love one of them, 83 bucks (including shipping) is really out of my price range. I can't believe how much that sold for <sigh> as I was really set on buying it.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:09 am

I'm sure the successful buyer is thrilled with the hunt and the victory. But I much prefer having my $83 still in my bank account, than the Yardley sitting on a shelf.

never2close · Post by **never2close** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:19 am

brothers wrote:I'm sure the successful buyer is thrilled with the hunt and the victory. But I much prefer having my $83 still in my bank account, than the Yardley sitting on a shelf.

Yes I am. Thanks for the heads up.

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:25 am

Congrats, never. Great find. I am envious!

never2close · Post by **never2close** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:27 am

diggity wrote:Congrats, never. Great find. I am envious!

diggity,

With one and I'm done. I promise I won't step on another auction that you're interested in.