Hairpiece

“ In pressing and dressing this scalp, I will assume that merely the points of the lower hair are to be removed, therefore push back with a comb the same as though you were about cutting a lady’s hair, and remove the ends with a sharp razor. Even this must be done in a particular manner, and is to be produced by a kind of sliding motion. Let me tell you the object which is to be attained, that you may the more readily understand what and how to do it. The natural ends of hair are finer and more pointed than they would be if cut. ”

“ After being fully prepared it is then made into switches, curls, plaits, fronts, wigs, chignons, and not a small amount is used in the manufacture of hair jewelry, and such other articles as are worn for ornaments. The jewelry manufactured at this time is as durable as the all gold jewelry, and is done in a style of surpassing neatness, thus rendering it beautiful, either as an ornament or memento. There are but very few places in the United States where hair jewelry is made, and as it is comparatively a new business, but few have learned it. ”

“ A VARIETY OF HEAD-DRESSES ADOPTED IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
skilful hair-dresser who could "build" a head was at a premium; the art of hair-dressing being reckoned as one of the most important, and as rare as difficult. No lady's maid, however clever, was entrusted with this difficult task, and very complicated was the work of constructing the popular coiffure, which was piled half a yard high, and decked with pads, and false hair, and curls so stuck down and plastered with pomades that they might hold for weeks without being pulled down. ”

“ Comb the hair back and place a set of small loose curls across the forehead; place a diadem plait over the top of the curls, and comb the hair off the temples over the ends of the plait, and form a chignon or bow of the back hair, and place a three-strand braid around the chignon, made either from the ends of hair from the temple or a switch. Add a crown of white blossoms and a veil, as shown in the engraving. If not for a bride, trim to match dress. [259]
An exquisite Head-Dress, of exceedingly graceful and modern style, agreeing with nearly every complexion ”

“ Jewelry Dealers, from the clear instructions herein given, can manufacture any required pattern of Hair Jewelry, and add, without extra expense, a new and lucrative branch to their business.
Persons wishing to preserve and weave into lasting mementos, the hair of a deceased father, mother, sister, brother, or child, can also enjoy the inexpressible advantage and satisfaction of knowing that the material of their own handiwork is the actual hair of the "loved and gone." ”

“ The hair has in all ages been an endless topic for the declamation of the moralist, and the favourite object of fashion. If the beau monde wore their hair luxuriant, or their wig enormous, the preachers, in Charles the Second's reign, instantly were seen in the pulpit with their hair cut shorter, and their sermon longer, in consequence; respect was, however, paid by the world to the size of the wig, in spite of the hair-cutter in the pulpit. ”

“ Earrings, however, enjoyed no great popularity during the Middle Ages, and the cause of this must be traced to the fashion which prescribed for women a style of coiffure by which the hair fell down at the sides, or was covered by a veil, which {113} would have effectively hidden any ornaments for the ear. It was only at the end of the fourteenth century that fashion again allowed the hair to be worn high. ”

“ It comprises the cleaning and preparing of hair for the articles intended to be made; weaving; sewing and knotting; the making of fronts, bands, chignons, curls and twists of various descriptions; scalp-making; ladies’ and gentlemen’s wig-making; and numerous other matters of detail in connection with the subject. That a treatise on this subject is required there cannot be a doubt, for while haircutters and shavers continue to increase, the clever worker at the board, to a certain extent at least, is gradually disappearing. ”

“ The necessity for a comprehensive work, giving a full and detailed explanation of the Art of manufacturing Hair Work in all its various branches, has been so frequently urged upon the attention of the author, that, in compliance with an almost universal demand, he has concluded to publish a book which will clearly illustrate the Art of Hair Dressing, and making Hair Jewelry and Hair Work of every description. ”

“ The scalp you are to make is without a patent 168parting, but with a crown either of silk or skin. If any parting is to be made on this scalp, it should not be clearly defined, but whether it be formed with weft or “knotted,” the hair ought to be set closer than it is elsewhere. This, however, will be alluded to later on. Should a rather narrow scalp be all that is required, and the wearer’s hair thick enough, a parting could well be made upon the head, some of the natural hair being trained to comb over and allowed to mingle with the hair of the scalp. ”

“ Most of the men of the lower classes wear their hair in a very ugly fashion,—the front and top of the head being shaved, the long hair from the back and sides being drawn up and tied, then waxed, tied again, and cut short off, the stiff queue being brought forward and laid, pointing forwards, along the back part of the top of the head. ”

“ The head-dress of women now began to show a preference to confine the hair with nets and to close in the face, which continued till the 15th century. The circlet and long plait or plaits and the flowing hair remained till the 14th century. In the 12th century we discover the hair gathered in nets at either side of the head, covering the ears. A low-crowned hat was bound over with a band of lawn or fine material passing underneath the chin, otherwise the plaits were looped up under a circlet which was also worn with the flowing hair. ”

“ There is nothing in the way of jewelry or ornament of any description but what is or may be made from human hair; and, after being gold-mounted, the contrast between them makes the hair jewelry preferable to the all gold. ”

“ They frequently dedicated it to the gods, on important occasions of marriage, victory, escape from death and danger, and the burial of friends. Different styles of wearing the hair, was resorted to for denoting the various grades, or positions in life, of the people, some wearing it quite long, others short, and some dressing it in a peculiar manner,—each style, or length, being according to the condition, wealth, or social standing of the wearer. ”

“ M. Alphonse Bouchard, writing on the subject in The Hairdressers’ Chronicle, in the year 1873, and at a time when hair was scarce in consequence of the then prevailing fashion, says:—
“The hair that has fallen off is carefully collected by men who make this work their special business. They despise that which their brethren of the rag eagerly search for. ”

“ Partial baldness among the female sex is not uncommon, but this defect can well be concealed by coverings specially made for the purpose. These pieces of ingenious workmanship, be they frontlets, scalpettes, fringes, partings, twists, chignons, curls, plaits, or what not, are easily and securely attached to the natural hair-growth, while a ribbon-bow, feather, flower, lace, cap, or other decoration lends a charm, and completes the coiffure. ”

“ I am bound to say, though, that the result of the elaborate straining and dressing of the hair seems generally to be, that, by the time women are fifty, they have no hair at all, or, at best, some two or three stray locks, which are then brought carefully together, and tied up, with a bold disregard of effect, in a knot at the top of the head. ”

“ She is taking more readily to the man’s hat, feathered and banded, and in so doing is forced to dress her hair more simply and do away with jewellery on her forehead; but, as is often the case, she dresses her hair with plumes and jewels and little linen or lace ruffs, and atop of all wears a linen cap with side wings to it and a peak in the centre. ”

“ We notice how simply the hair is dressed, brushed loosely from the face and knotted at the back, with a jewel gleaming at one side. Compared with the elaborate coiffures worn by great ladies in some historical periods, this style is delightfully artistic. Altogether the entire manner of dressing is perfectly suited to the wearer. ”

“ Some of this hair comes from poor women, but the staple product is from the heads of boys who wear their hair parted in the middle, and plaited in a long braid, which hangs down their backs. At marriage, they cut this off, and bind what remains in a tight, round knot on the top of the scalp, using pins or not as they please. ”

“ It is still common, also, among ourselves, for widows, in the earlier period of their mourning, to cut off their hair, or to remove it back from the brow. Among all rude nations, besides, the hair has been held in peculiar estimation from its ornamental nature, and its capability of being formed into any shape, according to the fancy of its possessor, or the fashion of the country. ”

“ On the contrary, in later sculpture, the hair receives almost the principal care of the workman; and, while the features and limbs are clumsily and bluntly executed, the hair is curled and twisted, cut into bold and shadowy projections, and arranged in masses elaborately ornamental: there is true sublimity in the lines and the chiaroscuro of these masses, but it is, as regards the creature represented, parasitical, and therefore picturesque. ”

“ The inferior ranks wear copper or iron. The men suffer the hair to remain in its natural form, except [33] buckling it in two or three places, in order to affix a coral ornament to it; but the women arrange theirs more artificially, with long and small buckles, or ornaments, the hair divided on the crown of the head, and the ornaments placed with great uniformity. ”

“ The once-fashionable 83chignon, with its accompanying plaits and twists had disappeared, and the coiffeur’s art began to decline in consequence. Besides, ladies complained of the meagre fashion which succeeded the more elaborate style of hairdressing, and a change, for more reasons than one, was considered necessary. I need not pause here to discuss the importance of the coiffure, or the pleasing effect which is produced when the hair is arranged in harmony with the features. ”

“ Human hair is worked up into a great variety of wigs, scalps, artificial fronts, frizzets and curls, all for supplementing the scanty or failing resources of nature. The plaiting of human hair into articles of jewellery, watch-guards, &c., forms a distinct branch of trade. ”

“ The sons, in short square-skirted coats, with rows of stupendous brass buttons, and their hair generally queued in the fashion of the times, especially if they could procure an eelskin for the purpose, it being esteemed throughout the country as a potent nourisher and strengthener of the hair. ”

“ The arrangements of the hair is an important affair. Bands are becoming to faces of a Grecian cast—while ringlets better suit those lively and expressive heads which resemble the beautiful Ninon. But, whatever be your style of countenance, avoid a cumbrous edifice of lace mixed with hair, and let your flowers be few and choice. ”

“ This description of hair is extracted from a lecture which I delivered to the members of the British Hairdressers’ Academy and their friends, at the Rooms, New Bond Street, a few years ago, and the importance of a correct knowledge of this branch of the subject will be apparent before my book is ended.
Every hairdresser knows that if his work is to be good, he must use only hair of the best quality in his business ”

“ The hair of unmarried women of this class, combed back and plaited into a queue behind, is then coiled up and fastened with a silver pin. In front it is allowed to fall over the forehead, like a silken fringe. ”

“ In the event of a piece of hair being rather more bulky than the rest, divide it, so as to have each piece about the same size and not any thicker than can be washed and dried in an easy, as well as effectual manner. Tie every piece with string moderately tight and securely fastened, but loose enough for the tie to slide up and down a little when the hair is being washed, otherwise, some portion of the hair will be clean, and where tied, dirty. ”

“ An easy mode of dressing the hair for powder is to part it across the head from ear to ear, turning the front over a high cushion, making the back into a long loose chignon, with a few marteaux or rolled curls behind the cushion. ”

“ Any one learning Hair Dressing, should acquire perfectly the execution of the first pattern—the Promenade Head-Dress—as that is very easily arranged, and when you have once executed it in a perfect manner, the others will prove comparatively easy. ”

“ In examining such a collection, one cannot help being interested in the very great variety of wigs—no two are alike; long and short queues, large and small ribbons, coquettish curls, majestic rolls, are shown amongst the men’s profiles, till we are bewildered with the variety, and cease to wonder that all kinds of fanciful names were given by the beaux of the day to the special hair-dressing they affected. ”

“ Nor can we stop to notice the Chinese “one piccie Barber-man,” whose speculations on heads and tails must be highly amusing; for the Fates are inexorable, and our canvass too small to complete the picture.
We must not, however, omit all mention of the trade in human hair, on which the wig-maker is dependent for his supplies. Ovid alludes to this traffic—light and auburn hair was most sought for by the Roman ladies which was brought from Germany and the North of Europe—
“Hair is good merchandise, and grown a trade,
Markets and public traffic thereof made ”