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...