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UTENSIL FOR THE 'OL PUSHBROOM

Eating with a mustache needed special spoon


When mustaches were popular, which in the United States was primarily between the Civil War and World War I, great numbers of brushes, combs, curlers, dyes, oils, waxes, and mustache cups and spoons were sold to accommodate this facial hair. The mustache spoon was perhaps the most interesting adaption that was made to enable a man to eat through his “soup strainer”.


A variety of mustache spoons were patented. All of them had some kind of cover over the boil of the spoon, keeping the mustache away from the food. The first one was patented in 1868. It had a hinged cover that was lifted by a spring for cleaning.


A removable mustache guard was patented in 1877. It could be carried by a traveler from one inn or hotel to the next and attached to either a cup or spoon wherever he ate.


Other patented versions showed the hinge portion in various positions and one in 1884 model came with five different cover plates that could be interchanged, presumably to match the mustache. All seemed to stress ease of cleaning, which certainly could be a problem on a spoon with a hinged lid.

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