Thread: About Barbers

Not sure if this is the correct forum location for something like this so forgive me mister moderator.

I was looking around trying to find the purpose for one of the many barber bottles listed on ebay and came across this story of a shaving experience Mark Twain had at the barber one day. circa 1871

About Barbers - Wikisource

If you guys have a few minutes its a pretty good read.

Sean

That is a fantastic, wonderful, and too true read. If Mark Twain can't get away from barbers of that sort, there's no hope for anyone!

I love Mark Twain, two of my favorite short stories are MY FIRST LIE & 110 TIN WHISTLES. Best writer of human nature since Shakespeare.

Reading this little story of Twain's would be a good idea for those who have a very romantic esteem for the barbershop. The guy who wrote about how manly and luxurious these places are (on that "Manliness" website that was linked to on the main page) really put barbers on a pedestal. According to his portrayal, they're all artisans and master storytellers who can do no wrong. Twain, who was renowned for being able to perfectly capture the sublteties of all walks of life in his writing, shows here that even the so-called "Golden Age" of the barbershop isn't as Norman Rockwell as many would like to believe.

They had outdated issues of illustrated rags on the "foul" tables in the waiting area; fingerprinted and greasy bayrum bottles and custom shaving mugs, which hints that the proprietors are too lazy to maintain them, thereby cheating the men whose names and professions adorn those cups out of the personalized, attentive work they believe they're getting each time they pop in for a shave or hair cut. "No. 2" (a reference to his shitty work, perhaps?) also doesn't even bother to wash his hands, it's implied, since Twain can tell by the scent of his fingers that it's his responsibility to maintain the kerosene lamps. The crap on the walls is the same from one shop to the next: the obligatory Americana; an attractive girl or two; and most importantly, advertising for the latest scent, powder, cream and tonic. Twain drives this point home as the unskilled barber constantly pressures him with offers for various products, trying to upsell. He continually manhandles him, ironically tending more to his own vanity -- combing his hair, checking himself in the mirror, chatting with the other dudes in the shop about some chick he was mackin' on the night before, etc.

I find little time capsules like this really interesting. Twain knew people. He knew how to get the trickiest of dialects from the American south on paper and to make it sound familiar to his readers who spoke it. That's why it's so cool to see an account of a genuine barbershop from his era. It's probably exactly as it was like for him. He likely didn't have to make any of this up, since he wrote from his experiences most of the time -- though that bit about the barber dying of a sudden stroke soon after he went on to the next customers seemed a bit far-fetched. If it were a film, you'd see the barber falling to the floor of the shop and dying as the protaganist did a concluding voice-over that brought you up to speed on present-day events - kind of like at the end of Stand By Me or something. I think Twain was just doing a Karmic kind of thing. You never know, though. Maybe it really happened.

QuickOrange implied that Mark Twain couldn't get away from barbers of that sort, and I don't think anyone can, really. Sure, if you're lucky enough to have a trusted barber who can take his time while he shaves you and do a good job, you're in good shape. Or if you're willing to pay 75 bucks every time you step into a shop for one of those luxury, expensive shaves, chances are you're hiring someone who really knows their stuff and has been trained to deliver a certain standard you're not going to find in many other places.

For example, I had a lousy shave at a barbershop (my first barbershop shave, actually) after I had already begun straight razor shaving and wanted to experience what it was like to have someone else do it. I knew I was in for a lousy experience when the guy just took some cream right from a can and started to apply it to my dry face! Like...what?! I told him that you can't do that. "You've got to add some moisture! A towel or something!" So he did this, at least, but the shave left me with irritated skin, likely to do with the new blade and a few more passes than necessary.

Originally Posted by Purvis

Not sure if this is the correct forum location for something like this so forgive me mister moderator.

I was looking around trying to find the purpose for one of the many barber bottles listed on ebay and came across this story of a shaving experience Mark Twain had at the barber one day. circa 1871

About Barbers - Wikisource

If you guys have a few minutes its a pretty good read.

Sean

Absolutely hilarious. What a great read to start of my day. Thanks.

Bart

Reading that was tmie well spent. Thanks for posting the link.

My barber perferrs to use those terrible electrics on me. The next time that I am hoing in I am going to tell him cisors and straights only, no electric anything. He has a straight and will pull it out on demand.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

Reading this little story of Twain's would be a good idea for those who have a very romantic esteem for the barbershop.

The article begins with the line, "From The Gay, 1871." - maybe this publication also had a very romantic esteem for the barbershop before reading Twain's story?

At any rate I enjoyed this, thanks for posting

Originally Posted by Purvis

Not sure if this is the correct forum location for something like this so forgive me mister moderator.

I was looking around trying to find the purpose for one of the many barber bottles listed on ebay and came across this story of a shaving experience Mark Twain had at the barber one day. circa 1871

About Barbers - Wikisource

If you guys have a few minutes its a pretty good read.

Sean

Did you find the purpose for the barber bottle? If not, maybe I can help - I collect barber bottles.


Scott

Originally Posted by honedright

Did you find the purpose for the barber bottle? If not, maybe I can help - I collect barber bottles.


Scott

Actually no I did not, thanks for the reply. The only thing that I could surmise is that the barbers made their own scents and or hair tonics and used the bottles to distribute it to the customers. But I don't know for sure. So yes more info would be helpful thank you.

Sean