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.
We believe that they started manufacturing adjustables in 1956 because he first reference to them is in their 1956 catalog. The image below the razors is a copy of the "Adjustables" page of that catalog.

Dovo took over Merkur in 1996.

Merkur Progresses are the longest running Adjustable razor, collecting them is a topic on its own - I am just scratching the surface here.

I'll start the page with the Vintage Merkur Adjustables from around 1956 to the early 1960's.

Merkur Progress 500 (Vintage)	Merkur Progress 510 (Vintage)	Merkur Progress 580	Merkur Progress 800/830
Moving on a bit. I've included the Vision here because although its more of a modern, it has been discontinued by Merkur.
Merkur Progress 500 - Gold version	Merkur Vision
These are my Modern Merkurs.
Merkur Progress 500 (Current)	Merkur Progress 510 (Current)	Merkur Futur