At the Sign of the Barber's Pole: Studies In Hirsute History

At the Sign of the Barber's Pole: Studies In Hirsute History

onnected 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: Notes and Queries, and other periodicals, as well as encyclopdias, 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. n 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 times, into whose art those beautiful leeches,[1] our fair virgins, were also accustomed to be initiated. In cities and corporate towns they still retain their name Barber-Chirurgions. They therefore used to hang their basons out upon poles to make known at a distance to the weary and wounded traveller where all might have recourse. They used poles, as some inns still gibbet their signs, across a town." It is a doubtful solution of the origin of the barber's sign. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 19925
Author: Andrews, William
Release Date: Nov 27, 2006
Format: eBook
Language: English