Thread: Boy Barber

From Shorpy.com: February 1, 1917. Boston, Massachusetts. "Frank De Natale, a 12-year old barber. Lathers and shaves customers in father's shop, 416 Hanover Street, after school and Saturday." What would your reaction be if you stopped by this shop for the first time and found a lad barely tall enough to reach over the chair waiting to put cold steel against your throat?

Regards - Walt

Someone here put up a post regarding their hairdressers young 13? Daughter shaving them, they were quite impressed, he provided the razor etc.

After some further investigating I found Frank didn't follow his father in the barber's trade. In the 1940 census we find that he is living with his wife, Helen, who was born in Italy, and their one-year-old son Francis. Frank is now employed as a contracting estimator and is pulling down $2,100 a year. I wonder if he was still wielding a straight razor, or had he joined the trend to double edged blue blades? We'll probably never know.

Regards - Walt

I've wondered about this young man for about 3 years now. Below is a barber hone I have, that belong to a barber named Frank De Natale; given to JimmyHad in the mid 80's, before Natale passed away. Jimmy can shed more light on this.
Maybe he quit being a barber, but kept using this hone to touch up his straights.

Could there have been "2" Frank De Natale's from the same area,,,,maybe,,,,,,maybe not???

Wow! How strange is that? I hope Jimmy can add something to this story. As far as having two guys with the same name . . that's possible. But the guy I was looking at was born in 1905 which should be about the time our boy barber was born. Year - 1917. Age - 12. Born - 1905.

Regards - Walt

Jimmy will find this one soon & let us know his thoughts.

Just goes to show that the world is a small place.

That picture puts me in mind of the time in 1964 when I was in Tupper Lake, NY. I went into this little neighborhood tavern in the middle of the day and was served by an 8-10-year-old bartender. It was one of those places where the family living quarters were just the other side of a curtained doorway. Maybe the old man was taking a nap or something. Anyway, this guy walks in and stands at the end of the bar. The kid walks up and says, "Whatt'lyahave?" The guy's neck is on a swivel and he looks like he expects either Alan Funt or some ATF agents to suddenly come crashing through that curtain behind the bar. The kid asks him again and he says, "A short beer." The kid grabs a glass and levers back on the tap and draws a tidy glass of brew. The guy throws it down in a couple of quick swallows, turns and heads out the door. I'm pretty sure this guy wouldn't have even climbed into Frank De Natales chair.

Regards - Walt