At the Sign of the Barber's Pole: Studies In Hirsute HistoryAndrews, William
History
At the Sign of the Barber's Pole: Studies In Hirsute History
Andrews, William
Barbers; Hairdressing -- History
We have it on good authority that a Cabinet Minister, about 1855, caused
a gentleman to be told that the beard and moustache did not look well on
a man holding a civic position under the Crown. This Minister did not
then imagine that shortly men with beards and moustaches would sit by
his side as members of the Cabinet. Even a Colonial Governor about half
a century ago was not supposed to wear a moustache. Dr Hedderwick, in
his "Backward Glances" (Edinburgh, 1891), tells us that on a certain
Sunday he was rambling with his friend, Mr Charles Maclaren, the
well-known editor of the _Scotsman_, to Loch Long, when he saw some
carriages conveying a number of ladies and gentlemen to church. "Sitting
obliquely on an Irish jaunting-car," says the doctor, "was a portly
personage with a dark heavy fringe on his upper lip, and otherwise
distinguished appearance. I suggested that it might be Sir Henry
Pottinger, the celebrated diplomatist and Colonial Governor. We knew he
had returned to England, and I had heard he was visiting in Scotland on
the banks of Loch Long. 'No, no,' said Mr Maclaren, 'it's quite
impossible it can be he. A civilian of great intelligence and sense
would never wear a moustache.'" We may gather from the foregoing the
prejudice of the period against facial adornments.
From about 1855 to some years afterwards we resided at the small town of
Alfreton, Derbyshire, where, if by chance the boys saw a man with a
moustache, with one accord they commenced calling after him, "Jew, Jew,
Jew," or "Frenchy, Frenchy, Frenchy," and, if that did not make any
impression, they commenced stoning the offender against the unwritten
laws of the land. In later years our barber at Wakefield was somewhat of
a dandy, and would, perhaps, have preferred being called a tonsorial
artist. He was the first to cultivate a moustache in that West Riding
town, and he told the writer with pride that in those distant days he
was one of the sights of the place, but his vanity had many checks from
the rough lads, and even men, of Wakefield. Before his death he saw many
follow his lead.
A teacher of music was the first to wear a moustache in Nottingham. He
attracted the attention of young and old, and was deemed a great
curiosity. The younger generation made matters lively for the music
master. Speaking on this theme to an old Nottinghamshire friend, with
whom we often discuss olden days and ways, he stated to us how he won
his wife because he had not a moustache. It appears another eligible
young man was anxious to win the young lady, but his character was
regarded as doubtful because he cultivated a moustache. After a short
engagement our friend was married in the year 1855. At this period the
moustache movement was making slow progress in Nottingham.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account