Gillette_Timeline_2

Please cite sources wherever possible, preferring primary sources to secondary or tertiary ones. There is a discussion thread at http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/294023-Gillette-Company-History-Geek-Out

• [*] July
  • [*]King Camp Gillette has the idea for a double-edge safety razor with a thin, disposable blade sandwiched between two plates.[1]
    Template:<br />
    Timeline_Dates

• [*] August
  • [*]King Camp Gillette applies for a patent on his design for a safety razor with disposable blades. In 1901 this patent was granted, then withdrawn in favor of a new application.[2]
    Template:<br />
    Timeline_Dates

• [*] June
  • [*] 28: The USA patent applied for in 1899 is granted. However the final fee is left unpaid and the patent is withdrawn in favor of a new application, which eventually became 775,134 and 775,135.[3]
    
  [*] September
  • [*] 28: Incorporation as "American Safety Razor Company"[4] with King Camp Gillette as company president. The initial 50,000 shares represent $500,000 at $10 each. First offices are above a fish shop at 424 Atlantic Ave, Boston.[5] Initial stock distribution was roughly: K.C. Gillette 17,500; Stewart 4125; Heilborn 4125; Nickerson 4125; treasury 10,000; remaining 10,000 for sale in 20 blocks of 500 shares for $250 each, or $2 per share. This raises $5,000 for the company. [6] There are 125 shares missing from this account. The correct number for the director shares may be 4177, or possibly the director shares were not divided evenly.[7] At this time each block for sale represents 1% of the company. No person controls more than 35% of the shares, and board holds control with 60%. Early decisions could be carried by K.C. Gillette alone, with 58% of the voting shares.
    
  [*] December
  • [*] 3: Filing date for the patent later divided into 775,134 and 775,135, superseding the 1899-1901 patent above.

• 
  [*]Company is close to bankruptcy when John J. Joyce invests $60,000. [8] The $5,000 has been spent, along with nearly $12,000 of borrowed money. K.C. Gillette has given away all but 6000 of his shares, and attempts to sell the 10,000 shares of treasury stock fail. Joyce agrees to buy $30,000-$100,000 in $5,000 company bonds paying 8%, at 60 cents per dollar, along with an equal amount of stock.[9] Joyce eventually invests $60,000. At the same time the company issues another 15,000 shares at $10 each, of which K.C. Gillette receives 3000 to compensate for foreign patent rights. The rest go to "others". [10] This brings K.C. Gillette to 9000 shares, or 14% of 65,000. Joyce probably holds 6000 shares (9%) but it is not clear what happened to the other 12,000 new shares.
  
  [*]Records for the State of Maine show $25 tax paid by "American Safety Razor Company". [11]
  

• [*] July
  • [*] 15: Company renamed for Gillette. Around this time Nickerson has the first machine producing fully machine-sharpened blades, and the initial $5,000 operating cash has been spent.[12]
    
  [*] October
  • [*] 6: Capital stock increased from $500,000 to $650,000 to accomodate investment from Joyce, who mortgages property to raise the cash.[13]
    
  [*] December
  • [*] 2: Filing date for UK patent 28763.02.[14]
    [*] 10: Engineering work moves to larger premises at 394 Atlantic Ave, Boston MA.[15]
    [*] 31: Annual sales: nil.[16]

• 
  [*]Records for the State of Maine show $50 tax paid by "Gillette Safety Razor Company". [17]
  

• [*] January
  • [*] 13: Meeting of company directors: Gillette, Heilborn, Sachs, Chadwick, and Nickerson. Agreement on terms of payment reached with Joyce.[18]
    
  [*] April
  • [*]Second sharpening machine completed. Individual razors are being made for trial purposes.[19]
    Template:<br />
    Timeline_Dates
  [*] May
  • [*] 9: Board fixes price of razor set with 12 blades at $3, and $1 per dozen blades. Gillette, Joyce, and Heilborn form an executive committee to run day-to-day business. Sometime between this meeting and the first sales, Joyce persuaded the rest of the board to raise the price of the razor to $5. [21]
    
  [*] July
  • [*] 2: Board meets to discuss outsourcing of sales and marketing to Townsend and Hunt, known as the Gillette Sales Co. until 1908. They are to take 500 sets before 1 November; 1500 before 1 December; 3000 before 1 January 1904; 5000 before 1 February 1904; total 50,000 sets over 15 months.[22]
    [*] 3: French patent FR327815 granted.[23]
    
  [*] October
  • [*]First (only?) advertising by Townsend and Hunt.[24]
    [*] 15: UK patent 28763.02 granted.[25]
    
  [*] November
  • [*]First advertising by Gillette Sales Company.[26]
    Template:<br />
    Timeline_Dates
  [*] December
  • [*] 31: Annual sales: 51 razor sets and 14 packs of 12 blades (168 blades).[27] Note that Nickerson's digest of the July sales agreement suggests that this should be 1500 or 3000 sets, and Nickerson writes that they shipped nothing until January 1904.