Thread: Old Barber Manuals

I was browsing the web around christmas time, inspired by the 1905 self-help manual and came to the web sites of the Library of Congress. I found a few barber manuals there that some folks here might be interested in. I have not searched the whole SRP site to check for any doubles, so forgive me if you find something you already have. I trust the small collection is enjoyable for all.
I zipped them in one file of about 33 Mb and uploaded it to Rapidshare.com. Here's the link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/44097198...er_Manuals.zip

In case you prefer another format than .pdf; here are the original links:
The art of honing a razor. The art of shaving : [Lonergan, Charles H.] [from old catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
The barbers' manual : Jones, L. Howard. [from old catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
The barbers' manual : Moler, A. B. (Arthur Bass), 1866- : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
Essay on barbers' razors, razor hones, razor strops and razor honing .. : Le Blanc, Napoleon. [from old catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
Exercises for barber apprentices : Mole, Arthur Bass, 1866- [from old catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
The barbers' manual (Open Library)

There are some nice things to see in these manuals. Names and pictures of hairstyles from those days and in one of the barber manuals there's a whole description of a face massage including a hand vibrator. That same manual also has test questions to answer for apprentice barbers and whole chapters on cleanliness and even the anatomy of the skin. The art of honing a razor may be of help to those trying to get the hang of that.

I know I don't have a lot of posts here yet, but I have learned a great deal in the months since I joined. I have eleven straights by now and am still trying to find out what kind of blade I like best. In this time I have managed to get a Wapi shave ready using the Unicot method and have had the luck to get a nice Henckels #14 (15/16) and a Filarmonica Doble Temple #14 (8/8) through online auctions. They're my favorites at this point. I'll post something soon about my development. I hope it will encourage those just starting out to not give up.

I had tons of fun browsing through the books that are listed above. I hope you will have too! Greetings from Amsterdam

Thanks for putting the links together. I've seen some of that and haven't seen others yet. I have a hard copy of the Moler Manual and have posted a couple of pages where he describes coticules and Thuringans. Great stuff for us Haddicts.

Here is a great addition from the SRP Wiki help files, the frequently linked to 1961 barber manual excerpt on honing and stropping. Very good info IME.

Thanks! really cool find, downloading them and putting them on the e-reader

Thanks a lot for that books! Reading them right now

Very handy to be able to reference a book written in 1908 that you don't have, isn't technology great? Thanks for posting this, who better to teach us than the guys in the era when there was nothing else BUT straight razors to shave with.

I would like to add to more:

https://books.google.nl/books?id=X10GAAAAQAAJ&hl=nl

Technisch handboek voor den heerenkapper, 1910

Awesome! Thanks for the links!

Pretty cool reading! Thanks!
I knew there was a reason I love the heavier wedge blades. From " The Art of Honing a Razor "

The Art of Honing a Razor.
The first essential to painless and easy shav- ing is by use of a keen cutting razor, any of celebrated makes will do, but for " self-shav- ing" none answers the purpose so well as the wedge-shaped blade, always avoiding the " hollow-ground" or so-called " rattlers" gen- erally used by barbers, for the reason they arc so thin the edge will spring on a coarse beard, and will not cut so well as the thicker blades, which also hold a keen edge longer, and in all respects do better for private use.

Originally Posted by NewellVW

the edge will spring on a coarse beard, and will not cut so well as the thicker blades, which also hold a keen edge longer, and in all respects do better for private use.

Hollow Ground (rattlers) vs Wedge Blades
We have had our share of discussions/arguments on this topic several times.
Was it this article that started it all?

Looks like a cool find. i'll have to look at these when i have a chance.