The stationary – as in bolted down – shaving cup was not Angelo Piccione’s¹ first foray into making an overly complex self cleaning lathering cup. Six years before the stationary cup he filed a patent for a, well, lathering device. The objective is more or less the same as his later lather cup. In the words of the patent text:

This invention relates to lathering devices for use by barbers to produce lather for shaving purposes, and has for its object the provision of a device of this character which permits of easily and conveniently cleaning the cup and brush after each shaving operation and thus render the same more sanitary as well as facilitating the work of the barber.

From US Patent 1,448,674

Angelo Piccione filed a patent for a stationary shaving cup in 1928. Which brought up some odd mental imagery, since in my line of work the opposite to stationary is self-propelled or towed…

A number of inventions straddle the line between insanity and brilliance. And while it’s clear that Piccione took a large step towards one of the two sides, I’m not sure what way he went with this.

Not only does Piccione’s invention sounds like it was a piece of heavy machinery, but the patent drawing¹ also looks the part too. We got multiple valves, springs, and linkages. We got pipes, sprayers, and tie-rods. I can easily imagine this device in shiny brass, chrome, and glass – and part of me really wants one.

Even a neat freak like to shave. And to make things tidy afterwards. Which is why the square shaving cup invented by Vincent Arra might be just the thing. Patent was filed in 1952, and granted in 1956, and have more numbers and arrows than most patents for shaving cups.

A lot more numbers and arrows. Let’s pick those apart, shall we?