Quote Originally Posted by Voidmonster View Post
As it turns out, I was able to find the information myself.

The official directory of the Chicago World's Fair lists J.A. Hemkels (they couldn't be bothered with copy editing the thousands of business listings, and if you know much about the Columbian Expo, it's not going to be surprising that the official directory was a tad slipshod on the details) as one of the German manufacturers on display in the Manufacturers And Liberal Arts Building, in the Germany pavilion near the center of the enormous building.

The pride-of-place for that exhibit means it would definitely have been seen by most people who visited that building, and that means that a huge percentage of the important people of 1893 would have looked at that display razor.

People like Harry Houdini, Scott Joplin, Susan B. Anthony, Buffalo Bill Cody. I think Gustave Eiffel visited. Many heads of state including most of the top people in American government at the time.
I did mean from Henckels themselves from factory records as possibly being difficult to find. Other sources are there as you have found. It would be interesting if there exists a photograph showing the razor in place at the Exhibition.

Bob