The idea of a self feeding shaving brush – in other words a shave brush that contains the shave cream in the handle – is old… older than I though. In my wanderings online I found this gem from 1849!

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. Jewett, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Shaving-Brush; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same…

The idea is simple enough in hindsight, consisting of a hollow handle with a twisty bottom, a  plate to push the shaving cream towards the knot, a short tube and that is about it. The patent have a single, simple drawing as well as a simple and straightforward explanation.

…a sectional or profile View of the brush, with the different parts, in which- A is the handle of the brush and also the box containing the soap which should be what is commonly called shaving cream. B, is the head of the left handed screw by turning which to the right the nut or button O, forces down the soap through the small metal tube E, into the brush. The tube E is :fixed on a thin plate D completely covering and protecting this end of the brush. The nut C should be covered with leather so that while .it fits closely the sides of the box the soap may be prevented from passing upward.

Simple, elegant, and – as history have shown us – doomed to failure and to be reinvented over and over again.

Does loading your brush with shaving soap take too long? Is it too much work to load and lather? Or do you simply want to save a bit of space in your shave den?

If so, a possible solution was patented by H Forms Hansell Jr. and G D Lewis (citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania) all the way back in 1907: A self feeding shaving brush.

The basic concept is simple enough; a hollow brush handle with a squeezable rubber base, a rubber tube leading from the hollow handle into the bristles, and a capped hole so the handle could be filled with a liquid soap. To use one would wet the brush, give the handle a squeeze and make the lather directly on the face.

a is a tubular metallic casing and b a closed rubber cap secured to and forming an extension of the casing. The casing and cap together form the brush handle. To secure the rubber cap to the metal casing. the end of the casing adjacent to the rubber cap is provided with an inwardly extending annular the open end of the rubber cap is confined. The thickness of the rubber cap is preferable reduced at its open end so as to facilitate its (unreadable) in position by means of the ring d. The bristle portion a of the brush inserted into the contracted upper end of the metal casing. At f is a rubber tube of a length preferably somewhat greater than the length of the handle. the upper end of the rubber tube extending into the centre of the base of the bristle portion and approximately half way there through, the lower end of the rubber tube terminating preferably a. very short distance above the closed end of the rubber esp. SUI; rounding and secured to the rubber tube is a sleeve II, which is inserted into the base of the bristle portion, so as to relive the rubber tube at this point from the (unreadable) of the confined bristles. In the wet of the metal internal annular flange is formed on the body and threaded to receive a screw cap is.

I see no reason why this brush shouldn’t work as advertised, but I’m sceptical to how easy it would be to keep clean on the inside without the ability to pop the rubber cap off from time to time. Even so, I can find no indications online that this brush was ever manufactured.