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Old day barbers seldom hung a written sign over their store because few people could read. Instead, they hung a lathe-turned wooden pole that was the precursor of today's revolving barbershop sign. The red white and blue striping symbolized the ribbon used for bandaging the arm in bloodletting - a practice thought to be heathful. Occasionally, an old black & white striped pole shows up in the market. Such signs, it has been said, advertised leaching. Commonly, a barber would also hang a crescent-notched basin from the bottom of his pole. This connoted the bowl he used for everything from catching blood and teeth to stirring up a lather of soap and water that he held against his customer's neck for shaving.
Barber-surgeon bowls, sometimes now referred to as a kidney dishes, were made out of brass, pewter, copper, and various ceramics. Authentic, well-crafted, early examples that appear on the market today are eagerly sought after by both barbershop and medical collectors. An 18th century Delftware example can be worth thousands of dollars.
Toward the middle 19th century, the shaving mug, began to supplant barber bowls. Used with a brush for lathering, these wide handled mugs were made out of redware, stoneware, pewter, tin, silverplate, porcelain, pottery, and glass. By far, the most collectible of these are a line of personalized heavy-walled porcelain mugs that appeared in American following the Civil War. Beards went out of fashion. Straight razor shaving at home could be perilous. Men began flocking to barbershops every day. Like Floyd's on the Andy Griffith Show, these establishments became gathering places . Partly as a marketing ploy, and more importantly, for hygienic reasons to stop the outbreak of eczema (barber itch), American barbers began supplying their regular customers with their own mug and brush. Europeon blanks were decorated by American barbershop supply companies who hired painters and gilders to meet this demand.
An antique shaving mug with an identifying owner's name (usually applied in fancy gilt lettering) can be worth from $10 to $10,000 dollars depending upon what else is on it. Occupational mugs are most sought after. Over 600 different trade designs can be found on old shaving mugs. Interesting and rare professions, like baseball player or bridge engineer, often fetch big prices. Some rare occupational mugs also contain a photo of the owner. Now, all you need to do when you're hitting tag sales this weekend is discover an authentic baseball player occupational shaving mug with Ty Cobb's name and photo on it. Isn't this is an easy business!
Author's Note: Beware of modern reproductions. They out-number old shaving mugs by a thousand-to-one. Avoid any mug with just an avocation and no owner's name. Stay away from mugs with printed decoration. Printed design work (prevalent on repros) was not generally introduced to shaving mugs until the near end of their golden era in 1920. Look for highly polished gilding that is common on old mugs and uncommon on fakes. Look for glaze crazing (slight crackling) and legitimate wear. Buy from a reputable dealer or from a reliable old collection.
Shaving Mugs
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