Or at least a razor invented by Burton Christmas,1 that is. I’ve touched upon it lightly before, but let us have a more in depth look at it.
As I have repeated time and time again, inventions tends to be aimed at solving a problem. And the problem Mr Christmas tried to solve, was the one of razors being too expensive to make good advertisers – even if Mr Unsinger might disagree. To quote the patent:
This invention relates to safety razors and is herein disclosed as embodied in a razor adapted to be cheaply manufactured and also adapted to carry advertisements, so that it may be sold at a nominal price or may be given away.
To call it a ‘razor’ might be a bit much. The main bit of it was a waxed or otherwise waterproofed sheet of cardboard. The top was folded over a single edged blade, and stapled in place. When not in use, it was folded up like a matchbook.
The matchbook razor Mr Christmas invented probably was not the best razor out there. The head is rudimentary at best, and cardboard – no matter how waterproofed – is not a great material for a handle.
But perhaps that was not what was the main point of the razor. To quote the patent again:
In this form of device the cardboard handle and flap provide a suitable and effective surface upon which to print advertising matter, both on the inside and outside surfaces.
And when all is said and done, the point was not to give your customers a free razor. The point was to get your advertisement into the hands of the customers.
You can read the full patent for Mr Christmas’ matchbook razor at Google Patents.
- A fairly prolific inventor, coming up with various electric headlights for cars, soft bumpers for furniture legs, and a razor. ↩︎