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[Illustration: The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole. Wigs in Parliament.]
Connected 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:--
"Annals of the Barber-Surgeons of London," by Sidney Young, London, 1890.
"An Apology for the Beard," by Artium Magister, London, 1862.
"Barbers' Company," by G. Lambert, F.S.A., London, 1881.
"Barber-Surgeons and Chandlers," by D. Embleton, M.D., Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1891.
"Barber's Shop," by R.W. Proctor, edited by W.E.A. Axon, Manchester, 1883.
"Philosophy of Beards," by T.S. Cowing, Ipswich.
"Some Account of the Beard and the Moustachio," by John Adey Repton, F.S.A., London, 1839.
_Notes and Queries_, and other periodicals, as well as encyclopædias, 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.
ROYAL INSTITUTION, HULL, _August 11th_, 1904.
PAGE The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole. Wigs in Parliament _Frontispiece_
A Barber's Shop in the time of Queen Elizabeth 10
William Shakespeare (the Stratford Portrait) 15
Henry VIII. receiving the Barber-Surgeons 29
John Taylor, the Water Poet, born 1580, died 1654 38
The Lord Mayor of York escorting Princess Margaret through York in 1503. Shows the Beard of the Lord Mayor 39
The Gunpowder Conspirators, from a print published immediately after the discovery. Shows the Beards in Fashion in 1605 45
Geoffrey Chaucer, born about 1340, died 1400 52