Q: We have 30 shaving mugs from my husband’s grandfather’s barber shop. Many are Limoges, while others say Germany or France or Bavaria, and others are numbered. These are some of the Limoges mugs. How do we go about determining value and selling them?

 

A: Personal shaving mugs were popular between the late 1860s and the 1920s, when men often went to the local barbershop for a shave instead of shaving at home. A mug with the man’s name printed on it could be kept on a shelf at the barbershop and used when the customer came in for a shave. The porcelain mugs were made in France or Germany and shipped to the United States to be painted. Early shaving mugs had just the owner’s name on them . By the late 1800s most had a picture under the name. Occupational shaving mugs that show someone at work are popular with collectors today. Some sell for under $100, but those with intricate pictures or depicting rare professions sell for higher prices. Occupational shaving mugs that sold at auction recently include a German shaving mug picturing a bartender and customer in a saloon, $140; a mug picturing a livery stable, made in Austria, $160. A Limoges shaving mug picturing a man and two dogs, dated 1917, sold for $1,800 last year. You should contact an auction house that sells shaving mugs to see if they are interested in selling your collection. Just search online for shaving mug auctions and the sales will be shown.