Back in 1901 Mr Ernest F Ogborn patented a razor cleaner, presumably because he was tired of using razor cleaning paper. I briefly mentioned this patent when I discussed the sanitary package, but I figured a closer look could be fun.

As a reminder, a razor cleaning paper was¹ a soft paper used for wiping excess lather and moisture of a straight edge razor. While nothing particularly special or difficult to get hold of, a barber would go through a lot of them during the day. This would create waste, as well as costing money. Mr Ogborn had a handy solution to both issues.

In 1913 Joseph Lupowitz and Benjiman Mackilbank¹ jointly invented and patented an aseptic shaving cup, described in the patent introduction as:

…a novel form of barbers aseptic shaving cup insuring to the barbers customer, the use of an aseptic shaving cup, aseptic brush and aseptic soap.

FROM US PATENT 1084865

Compared to the disposable shaving cup I discussed a couple of days ago, this goes one better by including a brush.

While the anthrax scare and fear of germs gave rise to several disposable shaving brushes and lathering devices, the scary germs and bacteria could also be found on the soap and in the cup. While soap could be contained in the brush, or made in shave sized pieces, the cup was an issue. A barber could either opt for individual cups for his regular customers, or use a disposable shaving cup.