Antiques

All of the dealers at Howe Mercantile wish our customers and the Howe Georgia Enterprise Caraway readers a joyous, prosperous, and antique-filled 2020.

Since our new neighbor—Good Fellas Barber Shop—moved in next door we have seen an uptick in folks coming to downtown Howe. The owners and the barbers are so friendly, and they are good customers and so are their customers! It is great having another “retail” shop in town. I know that Abby’s and Gabriela’s must be experiencing an increase in business, too. Our neighbors really are Good Fellas!

Are barber shop items collectible? I would say so. We have had several men come into Howe Mercantile looking for straight razors and other implements associated with shaving.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, men gathered in barber shops to socialize and discuss topics of the day while taking care of their personal grooming needs. Before safety razors were introduced in 1903, and more and more fellows began taking care of that chore at home, local barbershops provided both haircuts and straight razor shaves. (Good Fellas provides both!!) Victorian barber shops, in fact, held many things that are now obsolete in modern establishments of this nature including occupational shaving mugs and barber bottles.

Going even beyond glass and ceramics, there are some very interesting antiques and collectibles to search for in the areas of barbershop and shaving memorabilia.

Advertising signs shaped like the straight razors used in early barbershops are desirable not only to collectors of barbershop memorabilia, but general advertising and sign collectors as well. But they will be very pricey—upwards of $1,000$1,500. Barber poles are also popular for decorating man caves.

Other types of items you would have found in an old-fashioned barbershop include refillable talc and hair tonic bottles, shaving brushes (the kind that were used with occupational shaving mugs and cake soap to work up a rich lather), and straight razors. Some barber chairs are stylish enough to be sought after by not only barber shops for use and decoration, but for man caves and game rooms. face towels to just the right temperature.

Shaving mugs were used extensively at the turn of the 20th century in barbershops across America. They held a cake of soap that was worked up into a rich lather with a bristle brush. The mugs, the soap, and the brushes are all sought after. In many barber shops, a fitted shelf held spots for the personalized mugs of its patrons. These mugs usually had the customer's name and a hand-painted illustration of the man's occupation. The status of a barber's shop was boosted by the number of mugs on display, especially if the patrons owning those mugs were seen as influential in the community.

Even the most mundane occupational shaving mugs are worth something today, and beginning collectors often start with buying those. More serious collectors are willing to pay more than $1,000 for the right mugs. Those expensive mugs are general examples that have unusual occupations or noteworthy decor that is finely detailed, such as fish market, U.S. mail truck, race car driver, bank scene, merry-go-round, and lawyer.

Many occupational shaving mugs will have the manufacturer’s mark of the company who made the white ware, or "blank," on which the decor was painted. Most of these mugs were imported without decoration from Germany, France and other locations known for producing porcelain and then decorated in the United States. Occasionally you will find a mug that is also signed by the artist which can add value to these pieces.

Our neighbors have started a collection of shaving items, and have come in to see our inventory. They will be displaying their collection as well as setting up their lobby area with an authentic barber shop setting. So, come visit Good Fellas, Howe Mercantile, and Abby’s and Gabriela’s for a unique Howe experience. As one old philosopher said: Barbershop [antique shop and small-town restaurant] conversations are irrefutable proof that heads exist for the sake of hair. ]

Dr. Georgia Caraway and her friends operate Howe Mercantile at 107 East Haning. Coming soon Coulter Collections. We have also opened the pavilion space behind the shop and are offering bargains galore. SHOP LOCALLY!! We can show you Howe!!

Wortham

(Continued from page 8) isolate the older part of town.

“The water has to run out on the ground until we get it fixed.” said Wortham.

Wortham was one of eight city employees in the public works department when he started 40 years ago. He was hired on to pick up trash and has worked his way to the top of the department by doing all of the things that a lot of people won’t do. While some citizens will complain about being without water for an hour or two, no one will ever hear Wortham complain. He’s picked up trash, wrestled pipes in the mud (day and night), captured about a thousand dogs, baked in the hot sun putting black top in pot holes, dipped water out of water meter buckets, and survived a couple of dozen city manager and mayor changes.

Congratulations David Wortham for your 44 years of dedication to your city.

developments will have the surface water instead of Howe’s well water. All new developments will also have new piping to those new homes and businesses.

“The difference in surface water and well water is the taste.” said Wortham. “People from the metroplex coming this way have been drinking surface water already.

Wortham’s biggest headache over the years comes from the concrete water pipes in Western Hills. “If it’s too dry it breaks. If it’s too wet, it moves around and breaks.” said Wortham. “We are getting more plastic pipes in the ground now instead of the old steel.”

A failure decades ago to spend the extra money to put valves around town now causes the city to turn all of the wells off during a leak instead of being able to