Carolyn Kunin writes [to Barrie Akin's  'razors' comment ...Mr Gillette was "King C Gillette" (the 'C' standing for  'Camp').]'Camp'? Could relate to those two - mentors? ...I discovered several camellias at the Huntington Gardens named after Gillette I have been intrigued to know more...The razor blade -- zhiletka po-russky, deriving from Gillette -- plays an important role in Shade's cerebral stroke(s) or course in my reading of Pale Fire.
 
Jansy Mello: There's a lot about bristling hairs and razors in the List-Archives.  CK informs that Alfred Housman and Alfred Tennyson "certainly used an Ordinary Razor, and John Shade an ancient Gillette..." and, although I'm unable now to access them to add anything special to the present exchange, I remind you that the Gillette safety razors have two sharp edges - instead of a single blade - and that, in the past, it was used to refer to "bisexuality" (a tip Carolyn wouldn't have missed concerning Shade's sexual inclinations...). I'm curious about why Kinbote introduced a Gillette, instead of a Wilkinson blade...
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