Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
80
Unless there are particular reasons, for example a skin condition, or a faulty razor, shaving today is usually a pretty mundane – if not a pleasant – experience. Indeed, the rise of traditional barbershops over the past few years, offering shaving as an experience, together with an increasingly elaborate range of rituals, head massages and exotic products, … Continue reading Cuts, Rashes & Chatter! The Pain of the 18th-century Shave!
over a year ago

Improve your reading experience

Logged in users get linked directly to articles resulting in a better reading experience. Please login for free, it takes less than 1 minute.

More from Dr Alun Withey

To Tip or Not To Tip: A Victorian Traveller’s Perspective

Like it or not, tipping is a big part of hospitality and the service industry. Debates about how much/whether to tip rumble on, but they are not new. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, travellers were complaining about the amount of unwanted or unexpected extras they had to pay for.

4 months ago 69 votes
News Just In: Dr W Joins TikTok – @dralun7

Yes, it’s true – I’ve finally joined the 21st century and decided to try something new. I am still only setting things up, so please be patient with the extremely cheesy and clunky vids as I try to work out what I’m doing! I’ve only got a couple of videos up at the moment too, … Continue reading News Just In: Dr W Joins TikTok – @dralun7

5 months ago 74 votes
Victorian Swappers! Adverts for exchange in the 19th century.

Victorians were inveterate 'swappers' (NB: this might not be what you think!). Newspapers and journals were full of ads for objects sought and to be exchanged. These offer a fascinating insight into what was considered desirable, the value of objects, and the processes of exchange.

7 months ago 52 votes
Should I Stay or Should I go?: Encouraging travel in the early modern period.

Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the spirit!  A good holiday is generally viewed as a tonic, and holiday company advertisements extol the virtues of ‘getting away’, encountering new places, people and cultures and (if you want to ‘live life to the full’) experiences. As one travel … Continue reading Should I Stay or Should I go?: Encouraging travel in the early modern period.

11 months ago 74 votes
The Troublesome Gibbet of John Haines, the ‘Wounded Highwayman’ of Hounslow.

For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the grisly fate that befell many who committed the heinous crime of highway robbery. (Full disclosure: I’m not an historian of crime, gibbets or highwaymen…perhaps the case I’m about to discuss is very well known. But he’s … Continue reading The Troublesome Gibbet of John Haines, the ‘Wounded Highwayman’ of Hounslow.

a year ago 80 votes

More in history

Difficulties with Fanon

Observations stimulated by Adam Shatz’s Rebel’s Clinic

17 hours ago 3 votes
‘The Illegals’ by Shaun Waker review

‘The Illegals’ by Shaun Waker review JamesHoare Wed, 06/04/2025 - 08:04

2 hours ago 1 votes
After "Victory."

How much is enough?

5 hours ago 1 votes
Thatcher’s Wordsmiths

Thatcher’s Wordsmiths JamesHoare Tue, 06/03/2025 - 09:08

yesterday 2 votes
The Bacchae

Ebook

yesterday 2 votes