![]() ![]() The guard had one semicircular opening against the rim of the cup to allow the user’s mustache to rest safely on the mustache guard. The cup had a ledge called a “mustache guard” that stretched across the inside of the cup from rim to rim. It wasn’t until 1830 that an English potter named Harvey Adams (maker’s mark ‘HA & Co.’) introduced the first mustache cup. The other dilemma was that strong coffees and teas often stained and discolored the bottoms of many mustaches. Steam from the hot beverages melted the mustache wax and sent it dribbling down the chin, often streaked with dye, right into the cup along with the by then drooping mustache. When attending social functions and afternoon teas, two problems arose. ![]() For a myriad of reasons, mustaches were grown in all shapes and sizes, and the amount of stiff pomade that was required to hold the hairs in place led to drawing room disasters. The necessity to tend to them daily engendered the invention of a wide variety of accoutrements including mustache wax, mustache nets (snoods), mustache brushes, mustache combs, and mustache scissors. These adorned mustaches were washed, brushed, combed, dyed, and curled by Victorian gentlemen. Over the course of the 19th century, the practice of pogonology (the art of facial hair) developed as an art form as many men expressed masculine fashion by cultivating dramatic mustache/beard combinations. The mustache was intensely popular during Victorian times as a rebellious expression of panache from the huge wigs (periwigs) that defined the 18th century. The artifacts featured during the month of May were donated in 1972 by Mrs. Mustache cups, cups sporting a semi-circular ledge over the rim, were invented to protect the extraordinarily magnificent mustaches of the 19th century from the effects of steam resulting from hot drinks and soups. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that the extensive regiment of the mustache wearer necessitated the need for a protective guard. The oldest known portrait showing a shaved man with a mustache is a Scythian horseman from the Gillette Dynasty, ca. Beards and mustaches have been distinct characteristics of the male figure throughout history. The Rosenberg Library Museum was pleased to display two 19th century mustache cups as the May Treasure of the Month.
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