There are more than 300 identified shipwrecks off the coasts of Bermuda, with the some of the earliest shipwrecks from the early 17th century. One of these wrecks was a Portuguese-owned, 300-ton ship named San Antonio, which wrecked in 1621. The ship carried personal belongings of seventy people, including razors, combs, and jewelry. In the 17th century, razors were used for hygienic and health purposes possibly by both crewmembers and barber-surgeons. A material culture analysis of the straight razors found from the San Antonio will add to the knowledge base of hygienic instruments and practices used by people in the early 17th century.
San Antonio was a Portuguese-owned, 300-ton ship that carried seventy Portuguese and Spanish men, women and children (MacMillan 2010: 45). The ship was on its way to Cadiz, Spain from Cartagena, Columbia, when it wrecked upon rocks 10 miles west of Bermuda in September 12, 1621 during a storm (National Museum of Bermuda 208, pers. comm.). All seventy people survived the wreck, and escaped to Bermuda on small boats and rafts (MacMillan 2010:45-46).
A year later, in 1622, Governor Nathaniel Butler of Bermuda sent men on about 23 voyages to the wreck, where they recovered some of San Antonio’s cargo, including 10 pieces of iron ordnances, four anchors, six small breech-loaded cannons, a length of cable, five pieces of silver plate, and a bag with 162 pieces of eight (MacMillan 2010:49).
Almost 340 years later, in 1960, treasure hunter Teddy Tucker located the wreck and recovered items from it (Berg and Berg 1990). A list of recovered cargo includes tools, beads, combs, shoe soles, shot, cowry shells, pottery fragments, olive jars, gold jewelry, silver pieces of eight, and gem jewelry. The recovered items were given minimal conservation treatment and displayed in Tucker’s personal museum. Eventually, Tucker donated a portion of his collection to the Smithsonian, and sold another portion to the Bermuda Government. In 1976, the Bermuda Maritime Museum displayed their collection of artifacts from the wreck. In the mid 1980s, a conservation program was undertaken by the Bermuda Maritime Museum in order to halt the rapid deterioration of the artifacts in the collection.
Today, some of the artifacts are displayed in the Bermuda Maritime Museum, while the rest of the collection is in storage. The National Museum of Bermuda is undertaking research to learn more about the artifacts from shipwrecks in the area, including from the San Antonio. Some of the artifacts that are of particular interest are the straight razor handles found on San Antonio (Figure 1). There are two pairs of straight razor handles made of wood, for a total of four wooden pieces. Each pair of wooden handles would have encased a blade. The handles have matching brass ends of Moroccan or Asian design. One of the handles has a pointed end. There are also three pieces of the brass ends without associated wooden handles. Two of the three bass ends have matching designs. In the brass ends, there are small holes where pins may have been. Pins may have been put through the holes, which may have helped the blade pivot on the ends. There is limited information regarding the size and dimensions of these specific straight razor handles, as well as where they were found in the wreck (National Museum of Bermuda 2018, pers. comm.). In addition, there is limited information on straight razors from the early 17th century in general. This report will focus on the history and development of straight razors from the 16th to 18th century in order to put the straight razors found in the San Antonio into historical context.
Barber-surgeons and their assistants were trained to maintain the health and hygiene of their clients, such as crewmembers. One of the tools that they used was a razor (Beliveau-Dubois 2016). A razor is a single, straight blade with a sharpened edge. The other side of the razor was a blunted edge with a small ridge (Eginton 2014).
In the early 16th century, it was common for barber-surgeons to have razors in their toolkits for both hygiene and health practices. At the time, people believed that bleeding was a universal treatment for many ailments and maladies (Beliveau-Dubois 2016). Razors were used to cut veins and allow large quantities of blood to drain as part of treatment. Razors were also used for removing ganglions, amputating limbs, and opening the scrotum for treating hernias (Paré 1649; Atkins 1743; Kehoe 2018). In addition, razors were used to shave hair from body parts; otherwise medications would not stick onto the skin (Kehoe 2018). Razors helped barber-surgeons to observe health of the crewmembers and treat or prevent skin ailments.
Archaeological evidence of razors has been found from the early 16th century. On the Mary Rose, which wrecked in 1510 off the coast of England, there were 10 razors found with barber-surgeon’s equipment, and two razors found elsewhere on the ship. The razors were made of wood, with iron pins at the solid end. The razors found with the barber-surgeon’s equipment may have belonged to the barber-surgeon as they were found with other barber-surgeon instruments. Other items that were found associated with the razors include a mirror, brush handle, and a comb. The razors, mirror, brush, and comb may have been part of a shaving kit used by barber-surgeons in the late 16th century. The other razors found elsewhere on the ship may have been personal belongings of crewmembers (Beliveau-Dubois 2016).
While razors were used for health reasons, they were also used for aesthetics and comfort. In the 17th century, wigs and clean-shaven looks were popular amongst people in Europe and New World colonies, so people shaved their hair to use wigs more comfortably, and shaved their beards to look more manicured (Wampler 2008). Shaving one’s face or hair was reserved for barber-surgeons, as razors were expensive and were full blades without handles. Men did not have the money, time, and the skills required to operate a full-bladed razor, while barber-surgeons on the other hand, had the experience and training to do so (McCreadie 2002; Beliveau-Dubois 2016).
Into the 17th century and first half of the 18th century, most men still went to barber-surgeons due to the skills required to use razors (Wampler 2008). In the Nuestra Señora Rosario Del Santiago y Apóstol (Rosario), which wrecked in 1705 in Pensacola Bay, Florida, one razor handle was found. In 2008, Morgan Wampler published her thesis on material culture and the social identity of those on the Rosario wreck. Wampler discussed the topic of razors and how they pertained to social identify onboard the Rosario (Wampler 2008). The razor was made of wood, and was 13.5 cm long and 2 cm wide. The razor had holes at the end, where the blade would have pivoted. Wampler argues that the razor likely belonged to the barber-surgeons, as it was still uncommon for men to own their own razors at the time (Wampler 2008).
Over time, the razor handles changed styles but were still owned by barber-surgeons. In the 17th century, some razor handles were made of wood, while some handles were made of bone. On the Dutch East India Company shipwreck, Zeewijk, which wrecked in 1727 on a reef in Western Australia, three identical razors were found. The handles were made of bone, and had pinholes at the ends, but no brass ends. Pins were inserted through the bone, and possibly allowed a blade to pivot at the ends. In 2014, Coral Eginton discussed the razors found on the Zeewijk in her Master’s thesis on medical supplies from the 17th and 18th centuries. The similarity in the razors’ design show that they were uniform, possibly company issued, and not personal belongings of crewmembers. Eginton argues that they may have been part of the barbering supplies of the barber-surgeon onboard the ship (Eginton 2014). The razors found from the Zeewijk and the Rosario suggests that barber-surgeons were still using razors to shave men’s hair in the early 18th century.
It was not until the later half of the 18th century that there was a shift in who owned razors. Previously, it was uncommon for crewmembers or the general public to own razors. However, in the late 18th century, razors became cheaper, safer to use, sharper and less rusty so more people began to own and use razors for personal grooming (Wampler 2008:84). Crewmembers began to own their own razors as opposed to going to barber-surgeons and using their razors. In the General Carleton, which wrecked in 1785 in Poland, there is evidence of personal razors. One had the name “George Ashton” carved into the handle, showing that men possibly owned their own razors. The razor handles were made of bone with rivets at each end (Ossowski 2008). By the 18th century, razors were made of bones and were seen as a personal item, as opposed to only a barber-surgeon’s tool.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, razors were used as a barber-surgeon’s instrument for health, hygiene, aesthetics and comfort. Onboard ships, barber-surgeons and their assistants used razors to cut skin, and shave hair. It is most likely that the razors in the San Antonio were owned and used by barber-surgeons, as it would have been uncommon for individual crewmembers to have their personal razors. It was not until the 18th century, with the change in razor design and structure that more crewmembers began to own and use razors themselves.
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