To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Virgil A. Gates, of Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and improved device for holding the moustache out of the way in eating or drinking, which is fully described in the following specification, and which I call a “Moustache-Shield.”

Every gentleman who wears a moustache must have experienced the great inconvenience it causes in eating and drinking, especially in eating soups and other kinds of food of similar consistency.

The object of this invention is to obviate this inconvenience by providing a simple device, easily applied and removed, for holding the moustache out of the way of the food or liquid while eating or drinking.

In the accompanying drawings, a is a curved and concave shield, which may be made of vulcanized rubber, metal, or any other suitable material, of proper form and size to fit over the upper lip and moustache, and b b are two elastic cords attached to the shield, one at each end, and each having at its outer end a loop, b′, of suitable size to slip over the ears, or the ends of said elastic cords may be united at the back of the neck, forming a single loop around the neck, and thus hold the shield in place.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents my device applied to the lip and moustache of the wearer, and Fig. 2 represents it detached therefrom.

What I claim as my invention is—

The combination of the shield a and the elastic loop-cord b, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Virgil A. Gates.

Witnesses:

W. M. Mohany,

Romeo H. Freer.