At the Sign of the Barber's Pole Studies In Hirsute History   By: William Andrews (1848-1908)

AT THE SIGN OF THE BARBER'S POLE

STUDIES IN HIRSUTE HISTORY

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS

AUTHOR OF "BYGONE ENGLAND" ETC.

COTTINGHAM, YORKSHIRE J.R. TUTIN 1904

PREFACE

Connected with the barber and his calling are many curiosities of history. In the following pages, an attempt has been made, and I trust not without success, to bring together notices of the more interesting matters that gather round the man and his trade.

In the compilation of this little book many works have been consulted, and among those which have yielded me the most information must be mentioned the following:

"Annals of the Barber Surgeons of London," by Sidney Young, London, 1890.

"An Apology for the Beard," by Artium Magister, London, 1862.

"Barbers' Company," by G. Lambert, F.S.A., London, 1881.

"Barber Surgeons and Chandlers," by D. Embleton, M.D., Newcastle on Tyne, 1891.

"Barber's Shop," by R.W. Proctor, edited by W.E.A. Axon, Manchester, 1883.

"Philosophy of Beards," by T.S. Cowing, Ipswich.

"Some Account of the Beard and the Moustachio," by John Adey Repton, F.S.A., London, 1839.

"Why Shave?" by H.M., London.

Notes and Queries , and other periodicals, as well as encyclopædias, books on costume, and old plays, have been drawn upon, and numerous friends have supplied me with information. I must specially mention with gratitude Mr Everard Home Coleman, the well known contributor to Notes and Queries .

Some of my chapters have been previously published in the magazines, but all have been carefully revised and additions have been made to them.

In conclusion, I hope this work will prove a welcome contribution to the byways of history.

WILLIAM ANDREWS.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, HULL, August 11th , 1904.

CONTENTS

PAGE THE BARBER'S POLE 1

THE BARBER'S SHOP 8

SUNDAY SHAVING 21

FROM BARBER TO SURGEON 26

BYGONE BEARDS 33

TAXING THE BEARD 56

POWDERING THE HAIR 59

THE AGE OF WIGS 71

STEALING WIGS 93

THE WIG MAKERS' RIOT 95

THE MOUSTACHE MOVEMENT 96

INDEX 117

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole. Wigs in Parliament Frontispiece

The Barber's Shop, from "Orbis Pictus" 3

A Barber's Shop in the time of Queen Elizabeth 10

William Shakespeare (the Stratford Portrait) 15

Henry VIII. receiving the Barber Surgeons 29

Bayeux Tapestry 34

John Knox, born 1505, died 1572 37

John Taylor, the Water Poet, born 1580, died 1654 38

The Lord Mayor of York escorting Princess Margaret through York in 1503. Shows the Beard of the Lord Mayor 39

Beards in the Olden Time 42

The Gunpowder Conspirators, from a print published immediately after the discovery. Shows the Beards in Fashion in 1605 45

Geoffrey Chaucer, born about 1340, died 1400 52