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