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| King C. Gillette as he appeared in John William Denehy's bicentennial history of Brookline (1906) |
Here's how Gillette recalled it in a February 1918 article in the company magazine The Gillette Blade:
I was living in Brookline at No. 2 Marion Terrace at the time [1895], and as I said before I was consumed with the thought of inventing something that people would use and throw away and buy again. On one particular morning when I started to shave I found my razor dull, and it was not only dull but it was beyond the point of successful stropping and it needed honing, for which it must be taken to a barber or to a cutler. As I stood there with the razor in my hand, my eyes resting on it as lightly as a bird settling down on its nest--the Gillette razor was born.
Years of experimentation failed to solve the technical difficulties involved in producing the kind of razor Gillette had in mind. MIT-trained engineer William Nickerson came to the rescue, joining Gillette in 1901 and perfecting the manufacturing process. (In the December 1918 issue of The Gillette Blade Nickerson described seeing an early version of Gillette's razor for the first time in the home of Henry Sachs on University Road in Brookline.)
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| Drawing for Patent 775,134 awarded to King C. Gillette in 1904 |
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| This house at 1566 Beacon Street was the home of the King C. Gillette family from 1907 to 1913. It was torn down in 1944. |
Further Reading
Thank you for this article. My great grandfather, Linus J Saulnier was the caretaker for the gardens at the Gillette mansion. He lived on the property with his wife, Albina. They were treated very well by the family. His first child (my grandfather) was born while they were living on the property and they named him Linus Gillette. They lived on the estate from until King Camp Gillette sold the property in 1913. The Gillette family gifted my great grandfather a water color painting of the Gillette mansion gardens. I have that water color painting in my home. Linus' daughter (my mother) is currently trying to research her family history. If there is any documentation that you have on The Saulnier family on the estate or in Brookline we would be interested in seeing it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article. I thought you might be interested in some information I have. My great grand father, Linus J. Saulnier was the care taker for gardens at the Gillette mansion. He lived at the mansion with his wife, Albina. He and his wife were treated very well by the Gillette family. Their first child (my grandfather) was born while they were living at the estate. They named him Linus Gillette. They lived at the estate until 1913 when King Camp Gillette sold the home and moved to California. The Gillette family gifted my great grandfather a very nice water color painting of the Gillette Mansion gardens. I have that painting in my home. My mother (one of Linus Gillette's children) is currently researching her family's history. If you have any information about the Saulnier family in Brookline or at the estate we would love to see it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Danielle. I'll see what I can find. Email me at kliss@brooklinehistoricalsociety.org so I have your email address to get back to you.
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