To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Conrad H. Venter, residing at Cobb, in the county of St. Clair and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Mustache-Protector, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a device to be applied to the mustache to cover and protect the same during eating, chewing tobacco, or smoking, and for the purpose of wearing it to train it to grow toward the sides, thus dispensing with the use of wax.

With this object in view my invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and afterward specifically pointed out in the claim.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention most nearly appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which—

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the head of a person wearing a mustache-protector made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective sectional view on a plane passing transversely through the middle of the protector and comb. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of my improved mustache-protector. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the protector, bows or temples being shown attached to the ends thereof for the purpose of securing the protector in position, as indicated by the dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a profile view of a part of a face, showing in transverse section my improved protector applied to a mustache.

Like letters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the different figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A is a comb the teeth of which are joined at the bottom, as at B in Fig. 3, and are pointed upward. This comb is curved, as shown in Fig. 4, to fit snugly against the upper lip of the wearer, and secured to the bottom of the comb is a hood or protector C, which passes outward, upward, and inward until its inner upper edge D reaches the lip, just below the nose and above the mustache, thus entirely inclosing the mustache when the teeth of the comb are forced upward through the hairs of the mustache in contact with the lip. This hood or guard is curved to give it an artistic appearance and to a form to which the wearer desires to train his mustache, the ends being curved inward, downward, outward, and upward to form curved rests E, in which to place the ends of the mustache in order to train it, as best shown in Fig. 1.

The comb and hood or protector will preferably be made of one piece of celluloid or other suitable material and of flesh color, so as to be as little noticeable as possible and is intended to be worn while eating for the purpose of protecting the mustache and preventing the engagement thereon of particles of food, especially when eating soups and other liquid foods having solids therein. It is also intended to be worn either day or night for the purpose of training the mustache to the shape of the interior of the protector or for protecting the mustache while smoking or chewing tobacco.

With heavy closely-grown mustaches the device as herein described will be held in position without other means of attachment; but as an additional security against loss or breakage by dropping off I provide temples or bows F at the ends of the guard or protector, extending rearward and provided with hooks G to pass behind the ears of the wearer after the manner of the temples or bows of spectacles.

While I have illustrated what I now consider the best means for carrying out my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, but hold that any slight changes or variations such as might suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic will clearly fall within the limit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is—

A mustache-protector made of a single piece of celluloid or like material, comprising a comb with upwardly-extending teeth adapted to be passed through the hairs of the mustache in contact with the lip, and a guard or hood secured to the lower edge of the comb adapted to encompass the mustache, the central upper portion of said guard or hood being cut away on a curved line below the nose, and the outer ends of said guard or hood being bent inward and downward and having their extremities curled over to form rests and protection for the outer ends of the mustache, substantially as described.

Conrad H. Venter.

Witnesses:

Robert H. Sheeks,

Frazier Bristow.