Occupational Shaving Mugs Price Guide

Occupational shaving mugs date back to the 1870s and were popular through 1920 or so. Each barbershop patron had his own personalized mug decorated to tout his profession. Common professions usually command less interest from collectors and are therefore more affordably priced. Mugs featuring rare professions can be worth thousands at auction.

The quality of the decoration on these pieces also substantiates the value since these mugs, usually of French or German origin, were shipped to the U.S. as blanks and hand-painted to reflect the owner’s means of earning a living. A mark on the bottom of a mug often denotes the manufacturer or origin of the “blank” and other marks may indicate a distributor of porcelain or barber products. An artist’s signature on the outside of the mug may also be present.