Patent #123839, "Mustache Holder", filed by Eli Randolph in 1872. Mustaches flourished throughout the Victorian era. Often, mustache wax was applied to the mustache to keep it nice and stiff, with every hair in place. And therein lay a problem t

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Patent #123839, "Mustache Holder", filed by Eli Randolph in 1872. Mustaches flourished throughout the Victorian era. Often, mustache wax was applied to the mustache to keep it nice and stiff, with every hair in place. And therein lay a problem that cropped up when steaming hot cups of tea or coffee were carried up to the mouth for sipping: the steam melted the wax and sent it right into the cup.

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Size: 3600px × 2994px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1872, 19th, age, applied, art, artwork, bizarre, bw, century, drawing, era, guard, historic, historical, history, holder, illustration, invention, male, man, monocle, moustache, mustache, odd, peculiar, protection, quirky, science, strange, unusual, victorian, victoriana, wacky, weird