Wig (hair)

“ He rubbed the American head viciously.
Madame Dépine coloured. "But—but we are two. Is there no reduction on taking a quantity?"
"And why then? A wig is a wig. Twice a hundred francs are two hundred francs."
"One hundred francs for a wig!" said Madame Valière, paling. "I did not pay that for the one I wear."
"I well believe it, madame. A grey wig is not a brown wig."
"But you just said a wig is a wig."
The coiffeur gave angry rubs at the head, in time with his explosive phrases. "You want real hair, I presume—and to your measure—and to look natural—and convenable!" ”

“ No one was ashamed of wearing a wig. On the contrary, a person with any sense of dignity was ashamed of being so unfashionable as to wear his own hair. It was a glorious time for those to whom Nature had been niggardly. A wig was as frankly extraneous as a hat. No attempt was made to imitate the roots of the hairs, or the parting. The hair was attached openly, and bound with a high-colored, narrow ribbon. Here is an advertisement from the Boston News Letter of August 14, 1729 ”

“ These preliminaries having been duly attended to, the parting and crown may now be put in position and sewn carefully, so as to avoid any wrinkles or puckering; it must lie flat, be perfectly smooth, and resemble the natural parting of hair as much as possible. Herein lies the art of the wig-maker—to imitate nature so skilfully that detection is almost impossible—a feat that is accomplished not unfrequently by some of the most skilful wig-makers of the day. ”

“ WIG (short for “periwig,” an alternative form of “peruke,” Fr. perruque; cf. Span, peluca; conjecturally derived from Lat. pilus) , an artificial head of hair, worn as a personal adornment, disguise or symbol of office. The custom of wearing wigs is of great antiquity. If, as seems probable, the curious head-covering of a prehistoric ivory carving of a female head found by M. Piette in the cave of Brassempouy in the Landes represents a wig (see Ray Lankester, Science from an Easy Chair, fig. 7) the fashion is certainly some 100,000 years old. ”

“ Whether it was that the hair dresser was afraid of losing me, or that his heart was slightly touched with compassion for Alice and her orphan children, I know not; but he offered the good curate a sum for me which satisfied him.
As the curate gave me up, he untied the blue ribbon, folded it up nicely, and put it into his pocket; and I think he dropped a tear as he did so.
The wig maker examined me again when he was by himself. "A fine head of hair it really is," said he. "It will make a good wig for a youngish sort of a man; and the curls will make it work easier." ”

“ After much delay, the footman was interrogated by his lordship, “Where is my wig?” “Why, my lord,” replied the servant, “you threw it out of the window.” It seems that her ladyship’s maid, envious that a judge’s wig should travel so comfortably in its proper case, while some pieces of millinery were in danger of being terribly crushed for want of a larger box, at their last resting place had made an exchange, and put the fright of a wig in a band-box, and the millinery in the wig-box. ”

“ Hitherto that portly lady's hair had been black. But now, as suddenly as darkness vanishes in a tropic dawn, it was become light. No gradual approach of the grey, for the black had been equally artificial. The wig is the region without twilight. Only in the swart moustache had the grey crept on, so that perhaps the growing incongruity had necessitated the sudden surrender to age. ”

“ KIN from KIND; KITH from we know not what.↑ Wigs were formerly used instead of brooms in Ireland for sweeping or dusting tables, stairs, etc. The Editor doubted the fact till he saw a labourer of the old school sweep down a flight of stairs with his wig; he afterwards put it on his head again with the utmost composure, and said, 'Oh, please your honour, it's never a bit the worse. It must be acknowledged that these men are not in any danger of catching cold by taking off their wigs occasionally, because they usually have fine crops of hair growing under their wigs. ”

“ He wore an odd little sleek crisp flaxen wig, setting very close to his head: which wig, it is to be presumed, was made of hair, but which looked far more as though it were spun from filaments of silk or glass. His linen, though not of a fineness in accordance with his stockings, was as white as the tops of the waves that broke upon the neighbouring beach, or the specks of sail that glinted in the sunlight far at sea. ”

“ How to wear a wig was part of the education of a man [65] of the world, not to be learned from books. Those who know what witchcraft there is in the handling of a fan, what dexterity in the “nice conduct of a clouded cane,” will imagine the wits and gentlemen of old did not suffer the wig to overshadow their temples with perpetual gloom, like the wreath of smoke which overhangs our Modern Babylon. And many a country squire must have tried in vain to catch the right toss of the head; to sport a playful humour in those crisp curls ”

“ When ordering the wig even a very rough sketch will prove of great assistance to the wig-maker.
The beard is also a great help in changing the shape of the face. The chin may be strengthened or modified by a suitable arrangement of the hair.
A great double chin of padded silk is sometimes worn round the neck, but this is only convincing when the chin is slightly bearded. ”

“ Some do it by adroitly covering with the hair all the weft except the last row, which, being closely woven and very fine withal, is sewn on the wig the wrong way, but, the hair being pressed into proper position, covers the weft, and effectually conceals it from view. There are other modes of attaining this object, but much depends on a man’s ingenuity, for here is a difficulty which a clever workman must seek to overcome. Secondly, it is natural for some fine, short, more or less fluffy hair to grow in the neck; and here is the next trial of skill on the part of the wig-maker. ”

“ When taking an order for a lady’s or gentleman’s wig, observe the shape of the head, cast of countenance, and age of the person who intends wearing it. Note whether the head is long, broad, or high, as a correct shape ought to be maintained by the wig-maker, who, in this and other respects, should be an artist. Observe also whether the face is long, round, or oval, because the arrangement of the hair on the forehead and sides of the head has much to do in presenting a good appearance. ”

“ Anglican clerics in Virginia, as Charlton’s accounts testify, wore brown dress bobs just like those of so many of their parishioners.
THE MAKING OF A WIG
The eighteenth-century wig was built up of rows of hair woven at the root ends to cross-threads, each row being then sewn to a net-and-ribbon skullcap or “caul.” The steps in making a queue wig would differ, of course, in some detail from those in making a wig without a queue. ”

“ Wigs of course continue to be worn by many to make up for natural deficiencies; and on the stage the wig is, as in all times, an indispensable adjunct. Many of the modern stage wigs are made of jute, a fibre which lends itself to marvellously perfect imitations of human hair. ”

“ There was lastly an excellent reason why in the eighteenth century it was found more convenient to wear a wig than the natural hair. Those of the lower classes who were not in domestic service wore their own hair. Their heads were filled with vermin—these vermin were very easily caught—now the man who shaved his head and wore a wig was free of this danger.” (London in the Eighteenth Century.) ”

“ I think that the idea of a wig is an excellent one, and I should advise you to write down at once to Major Mackintosh, and ask him to go to the cleverest hairdresser in Cape Town and get him to make a wig imitating the long hair worn by the Dutch. Say that it is of the utmost importance that it should be as indistinguishable from the real thing as possible, as your life might depend upon its being undetected. ”

“ But should the wearer wish to have a fringe on the forehead, with curls at the sides (either long or short) , equality of weight must, nevertheless, be maintained, and the other portion treated accordingly. A well-balanced wig is, at all times, essential to success.
To make a wig, then, for straight hair only, mount it as previously instructed. Having fixed 214the galloon according to pencilled outlines, baste it carefully and put another piece of galloon across the top, which must extend from ear to ear. ”

“ If a wig, it is a compromise between the more modern scratch and the departed glory of the toupee. If his own hair, it is white, in spite of his favourite grandson, who used to get on the chair behind him, and pull the silver hairs out, ten years ago. If he is bald at top, the hair-dresser, hovering and breathing about him like a second youth, takes care to give the bald place as much powder as the covered ”

“ Throughout the seventeenth century all classes of men in American towns wore wigs. Negro slaves flaunted white horsehair wigs, goat’s-hair bob-wigs, natural wigs, all the plainer wigs, and all the more costly sorts when these were half worn and secondhand. Soldiers wore wigs; and in the Massachusetts Gazette of the year 1774 a runaway negro is described as wearing a curl of hair tied around his head to imitate a scratch wig ”

“ A calculation ought to be made first, and the appearance, age of wearer, and so forth taken into consideration. As a rule, the makers of wigs put too much hair in their manufactures. The lighter they are, the better. Still, sufficient hair must be used to cover them, and much depends upon the fineness of the weft. Weaving some thirty yards of weft is, no doubt, considered a task by many, but unless it is fine throughout, more hair than necessary is likely to be consumed. An ordinary weaver should do at least a yard of wig-weft an hour, but professed weavers would do much more than that. ”

“ A gentleman’s wig must be cut and trimmed after it is made, to adapt it to the style and taste of the wearer; it ought to fit easily in every part; and where springs are, no undue pressure should be allowed to exist. While the general appearance has to be well considered, the comfort of the wearer must always be kept in view.
The reader is, doubtless, fully aware that baldness is not confined to age, for some men lose their hair early in life. You may, without much trouble, find a bald-headed man at thirty, and it is perhaps as easy to discover a man at sixty with a fairly good head of hair. ”

“ The varieties of wigs are endless. Those that decorate the heads of the clerks are not the full-bottomed wig, to assume which would be presumptuous in one in service. Most of the mechanics wear their hair tied behind; the rustics, sailors, stevedores, watermen, and river-side men generally wear it long, loose, and unkempt. There is a great trade in second-hand wigs. In Rosemary Lane there is a wig lottery. You pay sixpence, and you dip in a cask for an old wig. It may turn out quite a presentable thing, and it may be worthless. Here is a company of sailors rolling along armed with clubs. ”

“ Of course, a man who wears a wig may or may not be a villain. As Eve pointed out, he may have worn it for professional purposes solely. If he was a vendor of hair lotions, then the wig was a kind of advertisement. ”

“ Crop, or Wig Weft, should be very finely made, taking about six or eight hairs at a time to make a weft, depending of course on the quality of the hair used. Each weft should be tolerably wide apart, and firmly woven, if durability in a wig be required. When it is remembered that twenty or thirty yards are wanted in the manufacture of a gentleman’s wig, my reason for saying that the wefts should be fine and well-set must be apparent, for were it otherwise, the article would be heavy and uncomfortable to the wearer. ”

“ The shorter covered the head or neck, and the longer lay on the shoulders; a wig in the Berlin museum shows both short curls and long. In other instances braids and plaits were preferred to curls. The peculiarity of the Egyptian head was a prominent back, and this doubtless had to be considered in the shape of the wig selected. The pages who served the king and queen in their private apartments often wore a crown of natural flowers.
The women appear usually to have worn the wigs over their own hair, which sometimes escaped below. ”

“ Not only did gentlemen wear wigs, but children, servants, prisoners, sailors, and soldiers also; as early certainly as 1716 the fashion was universal. So great was the demand for this false head-gear, that wigs were made of goat-hair and horse-hair, as well as human hair. The cost of dressing and caring for wigs became a heavy item of expense to the wearer, and income to the barber; often eight or ten pounds a year were paid for the care of a single wig. ”

“ No doubt the constant wearing of such hot, heavy head-covering made the hair thin and the head bald; thus wigs became a necessity. Men had their heads very closely covered of old, and caught cold at a breath. Pepys took cold throwing off his hat while at dinner. If the wig were removed even within doors a close cap or hood at once took its place, or, as I tell elsewhere, a turban of some rich stuff. In America, in the Southern states, where people were poor and plantations scattered, all men did not wear wigs. A writer in the London Magazine in 1745 tells of this country carelessness of dress. ”