Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-11-21
THE HAIR.
Something About Bald
Heads and Wigs.
CUSTOM OF PARTING THE HAIR
Fabulous Prices for Luxuriant
Tresses-Puffs and Tiers and
Coils-$5O0 for a Wig.

n ~--~
polished poll from jibe and jeer; in vain
has mans ingenuity. by the invention
of q wig, striven to destroy this strange
penchant to whet the blade of wit on
the shining scalp. Forthwith the spirit
of ridicule turned its force upon the wig
itself. The low comedian, the street
singer, the newspaper wit, aimed their
shafts at the mountains of false hair,
upon which hundreds, even thousands of
dollars were lavished. In the seven.
teenth century it was common thing
to expend $500 for uxuriantwig of
fiue make. The value Of human hair in
creased very rapidly with the increase
in length. The standard length may be
placed at eighteen inches, but the mo.
ment the capillary growth exceeded
thirty.six inches, fabulous prices were
easily obtained, more especially when
the product ran in any of the fashiona.
BILE colors of the day.
Eight dollars per ounce was the usual
price for hair OF this length. Dealers
secured Europe, attending to the yearly
markets, in search of the coveted article.
But while Europe was still the home of
savage clans, the Orient understood the
art Of covering natures defects by skill
fully constructed frontlets and patches.
At this day the inquisitive tourist may
gaze upon an Egyptian wig in the Brit.
ish Museum which, in the nature Of
things, ought to be white with age, for
it dates back some 1000 years. Some of
the Roman emperors were great lovers
of wigs, which they powdered with
golden dust when they sat in the gran
deur of state. During the dark ages
the custom of wig.wearing sank into dis
use, but with the renaissance of art and
literature naturally the love of refined
personal adornment again burst forth.
and in the courts of France and England
the wig assumed size and importance
that made its wearer seem, at times. al
most buried beneath the rolls, puffs and
tiers of curled hair.
Strange indeed it is, the reader will
think to himself, that man of all animals
should have been fated to surrender his
crown of glory. Possibly if we could
look upon our prehistoric ancestors we
should not find them lacking in this
beautiful head ornament. Doubtless the
cave.dweller was crowned with thick
and vigorous growth of hair, from which
he shook the rain and dew Of heaven as
he thrust his fingers through it upon
rising from his bed of leaves after a
nights rest in the dense forest. There
was no parting there. Indeed, no comb
was known to this remote ancestor OF
ours, save his ever.ready fingers which
served to keep the hirsute growth from
becoming matted, tangled and snarled.
II this five toothed comb neglected its
duties, doubtless the finer ones belong
ing to his wife or daughter were ever
ready to perform the service.
1t is truly strange fact that among
people in the remotest antiquity the mid
die. or "woman's part should have
been so universal in both sexes, and in
both the high and low walks of life. May
hap nature taught man this trick Of style,
in asmuch as straight hair has tendency
to divide itself pretty evenly on each
side of the head. This is true of that
ancient people, the Egyptians, who.
though they were wont to shave their
heads through motives of cleanliness,
vet, in the making of their huge peri.
wigs, displayed the middle parting. OF
this custom the Greeks and Romans
were borrowers. No vestige OF the side
parting is met with in the classic days.
This deviation from the general custom
was not destined to make its appearance
till many centuries later, and very likely
is it that it took its rise under some cir
cumstances which called for distinctive
hair partings for the two sexes.
Among the ancients, maid and matron
divided their tresses in this manner upon
the crowns of their heads. while in the
sterner sex the hair was either shorn
close to the head, or, if curly, allowed
to cover the head quite evenly in short
ringlets, secured al times by band OF
filet. Then, as now, high foreheads were
deemed destructive of facial beauty, and
were partially covered by bands of hail
drawn down and held in place by orna
ments of gold or silver.
The Roman dude besmeared his ring
let's copiously with unguents; hence arost
that classic mot descriptive OF the poma
tuned coxcomb, "He scratches his hea6
with one finger" meaning that he was 9
dude and feared lest he might disarrange
thsigraceful clusters of his curls. In
statues of the Olympian Jove his masses
of hair are parted in the middle. So, too
with slight modification are the lock-
of the Apollo.
Deep drinking and heavy eating play
havoc with mans hair. and from tn.
DAYS of the Roman emperors down to the
advent of the pigtail in the last oentur,
periwig, bagwig and bobwig held sway
and in one and all the middle parting
kept its place almost universally, ever
when quite hidden from view by tiel
upon tier of puffs and rolls. With thu
disappearance of powder and pigtail
there was O scramble among the male
sex to make the very most of their crop.
of hair that had come down to sons and
grandsons fromlong glines of roisterers ant
bon yiyants; and hence the invention OF
the double part and roll. Perhaps it wa
excusable, but it was certainly none thu
less amusing to watch these gentlemen
of the olden time in their constant an6
anxious efforts to lift these poor rolls uT
in an encouraging manner when the cur
given them by the heated tongs begar
to grow weak and they showed tenden
cy to collapse and tumble over the fore
head.
As fair woman has at times shown |
disposition to dispute mans right to the
title of ruler over all creatures. will
which our great ancestor, Adam, wa
formerly invested in the garden Of Eden
and has scrupled not to appropriate hi
trousers for personal wear. so has sh'
now and then adopted other little pecn
liar ways supposed to be the exclusive
property of the tyrant man. For in
stance, the so-called strong-minded wo
man suffered herself to be shorn of he
long hair and applied the side parting t