Civil War Cased Razor Strop, as in Lord's Civil War Encyclopedia

This is another nice item being offered – it is a Civil War era cased razor strop, used for sharpening straight-edge razors. The overall measurement is 13 ¾” x 1 ¾”. It has the original cardboard case along with the paper labels on each side. One side has the complete paper label with a patriotic eagle motif with “E Pluribus Unum” beneath it, along with directions on how to use it. The other side has about 75% of the label telling of the superiority of the product – both sides have the manufacturers name “Charles Emerson”.

An example of an Emerson razor strop is in The Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia, by Francis Lord (see pictures). He talks about how this type of strop was commonly used during the Civil War. Period photographs show many of the older soldiers sporting full beards, but the majority were younger men and shaved whenever possible, particularly in the more permanent areas, such as forts and winter camps.

This unique piece has been in my private collection for many years and remains in very nice condition. It goes great with a display of a soldiers personal effects.