I'll start the page with the Vintage Merkur Adjustables from around 1956 to the early 1960's.
Emil Hermes founded Merkur in 1896. He wanted to use his Surname (Hermes) but it was taken. Hermes was the Greek Messenger God, so he took the Roman equivalent - Mercury or Merkur. He registered the brand in Solingen where it still is today. The "Mercury" symbol is still on all their razors today.
They first started producing double edged blades and safety razors early in the 20th century.
The first reference to adjustables was in their 1956 catalog, so We believe that they started manufacturing them slightly before then. The image below the razors is a copy of the "Adjustables" page of that catalog.
Dovo took over Merkur in 1996.
The Merkur Progress is the longest running Adjustable razor, collecting them is a topic on its own - I am just scratching the surface here.
There are also the Modified Progresses, which are generally a change of Twist Knob and/or Handle.
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Merkur Progress 500 (Vintage) |
Merkur Progress 581 |
Merkur Progress 520 (Vintage) |
Merkur Progress 582 |
Merkur Progress 800/830 |
Moving on a bit. I've included the Vision here because although its more of a modern, it has also been discontinued by Merkur.
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Merkur Progress 500 - Gold version |
Merkur Vision |
These are my Modern Merkurs.
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Merkur Progress 500 (Current) |
Merkur Progress 510 (Current) |
Merkur Futur |
The image below is a copy pf the "Merkur Progress" page of the 1956 Merkur Catalog (Clicking on the image will open a full size version in a new tab)
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The table below the picture is loosely translated as follows:
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No. |
Description (Click on underlined to go to the page) |
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Price (DM) |
500 |
Chrome Plated in Plastic Case |
10 Blades |
8,- |
510 |
Silver Plated in Plastic Case |
20 Blades |
12,- |
520 |
Gold Plated in Plastic Case |
20 Blades |
15,- |
570 |
Chrome Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
23,- |
571 |
Silver Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
25,50 |
572 |
Gold Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
28,- |
580 |
Chrome Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
22,- |
581 |
Silver Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
25,- |
582 |
Gold Plated in Real Leather case |
10 Blades |
27,50 |
800 |
Pollopas in Plastic case |
3 Blades |
4,80 |
830 |
Pollopas in Cardboard box |
3 Blades |
3,- |
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