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Re: facial hair question
Folks should note that the period "technique" described in these sources for getting hair trimmed evenly is to let someone else do it. My father was getting shaved daily by a barber as recently as the Second World War. Barber was a fairly common occupation in the mid 19th century and there was a reasonable probability of having a couple of them in any given regiment. The army didn't provide haircuts, so anybody who had the tools and was willing to do the work could pick up some spare change. There was no licensing and no professional association, so you were a barber if you said you were a barber.
Speaking of tools, one thing that virtually all regiments would have had was horse clippers. You could give the Civil War equivalent of a "high and tight" with a horse clipper. Custer got his hair cut short with horse clippers just before he left on the 1876 campaign.
Regards,
Paul Kenworthy
Originally posted by Bivouac_of_the_Dead
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Here is an excellent site containing dozens of pictures of mid-19th century facial hair types:
And as an aside, a period account of the tonsorial art in the army: http://civilwarhome.com/haircut.htm
And as an aside, a period account of the tonsorial art in the army: http://civilwarhome.com/haircut.htm
Speaking of tools, one thing that virtually all regiments would have had was horse clippers. You could give the Civil War equivalent of a "high and tight" with a horse clipper. Custer got his hair cut short with horse clippers just before he left on the 1876 campaign.
Regards,
Paul Kenworthy
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