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Tag: National Museum of American History Library

A Look Back at Barber Shops

Kochs' Gold Medal Hydraulic Barbers' Chair, No. 25
Kochs' Gold Medal Hydraulic Barbers' Chair, No. 25

Has a red, white, and blue pole near a store ever caught your eye?  It’s happened to me.  I see the red, white, and blue pole but I don’t need to look at the sign.  I know it means there must be a barber shop behind that window.

We might be familiar with how barber shops looked later in the twentieth century.  But what were they like in the first decade of the twentieth century?  What did barber shop furniture look like over a hundred years ago?  This trade catalog by Theo. A. Kochs Co. gives us the chance to go back to 1903 for a glimpse into barber shops of the past.