At the Sign of the Barbers Pole

the Sign of the Barber's Pole, by
William Andrews

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Title: At the Sign of the Barber's Pole Studies In Hirsute History
Author: William Andrews
Release Date: November 27, 2006 [EBook #19925]
Language: English
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[Illustration: The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole.
Wigs in Parliament.]

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

Russian Beard Token, A.D. 1705 58
Egyptian Wig (probably for female), from the British Museum 72
The Earl of Albemarle 78
Man with Wig and Muff, 1693 (from a print of the period) 80
Campaign Wig 81
Periwig with Tail 82
Ramillie Wig 83
Pig-tail Wig 84
Bag-Wig 84
Heart-Breakers 89
With and Without a Wig 90
Lord Mansfield 93
Stealing a Wig 94
George Frederick Muntz, M.P. 100
Charles Dickens, born 1812, died 1870 106

THE BARBER'S POLE
In most instances the old signs which indicated the callings of
shopkeepers have been swept away. Indeed, the three brass balls of the
pawn-broker and the pole of the barber are all that are left of signs of
the olden time. Round the barber's pole gather much curious fact and
fiction. So many suggestions have been put forth as to its origin and
meaning that the student of history is puzzled to give a correct solution.

One circumstance is clear: its origin goes back to far distant times. An
attempt is made in "The Athenian Oracle" (i. 334), to trace the remote
origin of the pole. "The barber's art," says the book, "was so beneficial
to the publick, that he who first brought it up in Rome had, as authors
relate, a statue erected to his memory. In England they were in some
sort the surgeons of old