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An episode in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. A London barber (Poll Sweedlepipe) is visited by an old friend called Bailey. Bailey has been appointed as the liveried footman to a financier called Montague, and, like Montague, has delusions of grandeur. Although he has no facial hair, he insists on being shaved as if he had. "The barber stood aghast; but Mr. Bailey divested himself of his neck-cloth, and sat down in the easy shaving chair with all the dignity and confidence in life. There was no resisting his manner. The evidence of sight and touch became as nothing. His chin was as smooth as a new-laid egg or a scraped Dutch cheese; but Poll Sweedlepipe wouldn't have ventured to deny, on affidavit, that he had the beard of a Jewish rabbi."
"… in Chapter 29 we see together in a single scene Mr. Bailey clad as a footman and the interior of the bird-fancier's shop. The plate accurately includes details from the descriptions in both chapters 26 and 29: the favourite owl, the strop, the razors laid out in a row (right), and Bailey's smooth chin. Phiz, however, invented many of the details, including a can of bear's grease (at the left) and the wig stand surmounted by Bailey's imposing hat … The precise comic moment that the plate realizes occurs when Master Bailey attempts to enforce Poll's belief in his non-existent whiskers, which are as illusionary as the funds supporting the Anglo-Bengalee Life Assurance Company. … The footman's livery seems too big for Bailey, who is so small that he can barely straddle the barber's easy-shaving chair … And just as Poll studies the effect of his shaving on Bailey's visage, so Bailey seems impressed by the effect of his footman's hat and wig on Poll's coat rack (left), while a wig block (right) and the owl in a cage seem amazed — either at the transformation or at Bailey's effrontery. … In drawing Poll Phiz, who has substituted leanness for shortness, has in fact given him top-boots to emphasize his height and angularity. Only later, however, does Master Bailey actually enter the barber's and demand a shave. Browne emphasizes his short stature by his turned-down top-boots, over-sized waistcoat, and white corduroy breeches with a low crotch (all of which, of course, the fashion-conscious Poll pronounces "Beau-ti-ful!" in Chapter 26). Poll against his better judgment as an experienced barber finds himself caught up in Bailey's illusion. Poll momentarily credits Bailey's self-confident imposture, ready to swear in a legal document that Bailey possesses "the beard of a Jewish rabbi" (Chapter 29). However, the reader wonders whether, unlike Mr. Montague, Mr. Bailey is merely deluding himself."—Allingham, loc. cit.
The barber is a bird fancier, hence the numerous (more than a dozen) bird-cages in his shop

A barber is asked to shave a man who has no facial hair. Etching by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne).

1 drawing : gouache, with gold and gum arabic

Hindu barber shaving a man's head. Gouache drawing.

29 pages, 3 unnumbered pages : illustrations ; 15 cm (16mo)

My razor and shaving tackle.

An episode in Holidays with hobgoblins: a Scotsman called Sandy MacGranite from Dunfermline rents the Château de Fleurval in Boulogne which had once been a Jacobite refuge. He is summoned from his bed by the ghost of a Jacobite barber from Kirkcaldy who shaves him and then asks to be shaved by him

A man who has rented a haunted castle is asked to shave the ghost of a deceased barber. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1861.

1 print : process print ; image 19.8 x 25 cm

A barber who is also an artist neglects a seated customer whom he was shaving, in order to discuss one of his paintings with a potential purchaser. Photogravure, 1882, after F.A. Grison.

1 print : etching, with watercolour ; image 15.3 x 23 cm

A barber shaving a disgruntled man. Coloured etching after H.W. Bunbury.

1 print : etching, with watercolour ; 12.3 x 20.8 cm

A barber shaving a man; another man sits in the background awaiting his turn. Coloured etching.

Set in the 18th century. In the lower left corner, instruments are being heated in a brazier

1 print : photogravures ; image 12.1 x 15.8 cm

A barber shaving a man in his shop. Photogravure after G. Weiss, 1895.

Box file containing items of ephemera in acid free sleeves. Includes: vanishing cream, after shave, face lotion, mint cream, cleansing cream (Buerger Bros. Supply Co., Denver : 1930's?), Perfect Nails nail polish remover (1981), Flicker "feminine shaving product", Nulon hand cream (Reckitt Household Products, 1980), Immac (hair remover cream : Tesco, 1993), Oil of Ulay (Tesco, 1994, packaging 1995, 1996), Elizabeth Arden, Estée Lauder, Revlon, Lancôme, Honeycomb Cosmetics (1992).

General Collections Ephemera Collection

Beauty ephemera. Box 9.

1 print : wood engraving ; image 31.5 x 39.9 cm

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A barber is asked to shave a man who has no facial hair. Etching by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne).

Hindu barber shaving a man's head. Gouache drawing.

My razor and shaving tackle.

A man who has rented a haunted castle is asked to shave the ghost of a deceased barber. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1861.

A barber who is also an artist neglects a seated customer whom he was shaving, in order to discuss one of his paintings with a potential purchaser. Photogravure, 1882, after F.A. Grison.

A barber shaving a disgruntled man. Coloured etching after H.W. Bunbury.

A barber shaving a man; another man sits in the background awaiting his turn. Coloured etching.

A barber shaving a man in his shop. Photogravure after G. Weiss, 1895.

Beauty ephemera. Box 9.

A barber is shaving a man's face as he talks with his other customers in the shop. Wood engraving, 1875, after F. Barnard.

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A barber is asked to shave a man who has no facial hair. Etching by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne).

Hindu barber shaving a man's head. Gouache drawing.

My razor and shaving tackle.

A man who has rented a haunted castle is asked to shave the ghost of a deceased barber. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1861.

A barber who is also an artist neglects a seated customer whom he was shaving, in order to discuss one of his paintings with a potential purchaser. Photogravure, 1882, after F.A. Grison.

A barber shaving a disgruntled man. Coloured etching after H.W. Bunbury.

A barber shaving a man; another man sits in the background awaiting his turn. Coloured etching.

A barber shaving a man in his shop. Photogravure after G. Weiss, 1895.

Beauty ephemera. Box 9.

A barber is shaving a man's face as he talks with his other customers in the shop. Wood engraving, 1875, after F. Barnard.

Stay in the know

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

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Wellcome collection