That was my first thought when I saw it. It's quite evident that the inventors did not take their responsibilities lightly.
I couldn't resist making an online version of the patent ↪here. It tells you that... How did she know?
Well the above example sold for $48.55 plus $6 shipping with 24 bids. I'll keep my eye out for flashlight razors from now on. lol on a side note I think I have figured out the try reasoning behind this razor. We all know that James Bond was awesom, in fact he is so awesome this razor was made for him years before he became popular. Really. Seems like something Bond would have in his glove box so he could shave in a high speed chase!
In other words, if you were dumb enough to shave in the dark this razor might keep you from chopping yourself up. "What could go wrong, hold my beer a minute..."
Talk about overstatement. Wouldn't you have to do away with the blade in order to "entirely relieve" the sanguinary possibilities?
The patent application speaks of "new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Razors". Does that mean there were even older Illuminated Razors? "Back in my day, we used whale oil lighted razors..." Seriously, though, it appears that Katherine Allport also had this patent for a razor illumination attachment which was mentioned in this writeup from Popular Science Monthly. Lastly, there are also her patents related to dress shields.
"New and useful Improvements in ..." is a standard phrase used in most patents of the time. The first mention of the term "safety razor" is from the ↪1880 Kampfe brothers patents: I downloaded her other razor patent yesterday as well and will put in online later today - after all it covers SE razors as well... Katherine was the wife of a general practitioner in Chicago. She was in her mid fifties when she got the patents, but probably didn't make a lot of money from them, as she died in 1921. Her other patents, as you said, are mostly for innovations in women's clothing... Edit: Her patent for 'an "Illumination Attachment For Razors" is now available ↪here.
The fact that her husband was a general practitioner makes me wonder if the "sanguinary possibilities" were those of her husband or his male patients? The overall picture I'm getting is that bathroom illumination of the 1910's was horrible and highly directional. I'm kind of curious as to whether anyone ever implemented the second patent in an actual product. It looks somewhere between interesting and unwieldy. OTOH, we have some ingenious artisans and tinkerers here at TSD...
Her husband was an eye specialist and they must have been quite well off - the 1910 census shows them as living with 4 servants (well, 3 servants plus wife of one of them). He remarried and retired to a property near Nice, France. I found another illuminated razor attachment (by Frank Weiss) that clips on a torch and you can attach a Gem head to it. That one I would really love to have. Patent ↪here
Interesting. I'm just wondering what influenced her to trying to solve that particular problem. That patent by Frank Weiss looks interesting as it would be a simple attachment to a penlight. Here's an interesting one from 1951.
There is no problem? Actually, her husband was an eye specialist and some eye conditions might be improved by increased light... just a thought... That - and it's for GEM razors... ... interesting because the inventor was on drugs?
Another thread that gets turned toward GEM razors Love it. Thanks guys for posting all this. It is a great read.
on another note I see a MAYhem shave coming with a MINI MAG and 1912. It will have to be jerry rigged but I think I got it figured out.
Ah! The fine line between a visionary and a crackpot. I think what caught my eye was one drawing that showed a circle of bulbs around the central post. It reminded me of one of those cheap LED flashlights from the dollar store. Thoughts of taking one and somehow mounting a razor handle in the center... something like a ring light for a DE razor...