“Something for the weekend, sir?” Our barber surgeon, Master Hardwick, provides both a c
“Something for the weekend, sir?” Our barber surgeon, Master Hardwick, provides both a close shave AND medical advice. People understandably focus on the gorier aspects of the barber-surgeon’s trade, but at a time when so many people in #lockdown are unable to get a haircut, perhaps it’s time to laud the tonsorial history of the humble barber..The term ‘barber’ comes from the Latin for 'beard’ but, thanks to the scarcity and high prices of doctors, by the 17th Century barber-surgeons not only offered hairdressing and shaving, but also performed surgery, bloodletting and leeching, fire cupping, enemas, and the extraction of teeth. A regular shave and haircut were a big part of day-to-day life for men, regardless of their social status, so barbers worked for rich and poor alike. The powerful Barber’s Company guild, formed in 1462, merged with the surgeon’s guild in 1540 and both helped ensure quality of service, by employing inspectors to verify the skill of the barber, as well as compete with other craftsmen, by negotiating contracts..Fitting out a barber shop in the 17th Century was actually extremely expensive and required quite a considerable outlay to get it up and running. Razors and scissors needed constant stropping and sharpening – a job likely to have been done by an apprentice. Waters and powders needed to be continually replenished, whilst shop fittings needed cleaning and repairing with the stress of daily use. To establish even a fairly modest business, therefore, needed money. In 1674, Edward Wheeler’s Salisbury barbershop contained three basins, some chafers and ‘barbers instruments’ valued at a total of ten shillings. Basins and chafing dishes were both requisites for warming and holding water for shaving. In Newark, Nottinghamshire, barber Thomas Claredge’s shop contained glass cases and furniture, a large number of hones, brushes and basins, wash balls and a quantity of shop linens. There were more basic premises, like that of the Chippenham barber Thomas Holly in 1697, were clearly very basic, with an entry for ‘the shoppe’ listing just ‘2 chaires 1 lookeing glasse [and] 1 stool’, valued at five shillings.. Paul Faircloughhttps://www.instagram.com/p/CAjLenInddB/?igshid=luqlo60m687g -- source link
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