Concerning Beards

Alun Withey is a Senior Lecturer in History, University of Exeter, UK, and has recently completed a Wellcome Trust-funded research project Do Beards Matter?: Facial Hair, Health and Hygiene in Britain, 1650-1900'.

• IntroductionSection One – Facial Hair, Health and Medicine2. Medical Conceptions of Facial Hair, c. 1650-17503. The Faces of Politeness: Beards and Beardlessness in the Eighteenth Century4. The Imperial Beard, c. 1850-1900Section Two – The Practice and Practices of Shaving5. Barbers and Barbershops in Early Modern Britain6. Shaving and Being Shaved, c.1600-17507. Barbering in Decline? Barbershops and Shaving, 1745-1900Section Three – Facial Hair, Class and Hegemony8. The Bearded Classes: Facial Hair and Social Status, 1700-19009. Cleanse and Control: The Institutional History of Facial Hair, c. 1700-1900Section Four – The Marketplace for Shaving10. The Material Culture of Shaving, 1650-175011. The ‘Outward Gentlemen’: Marketing Shaving Products, c. 1750-185012. Selling Shaving in the Age of the Beard: Men’s Personal Grooming, c. 1850-1900Index

Alun Withey's fluent and attractive account greatly enlarges the scope and historical grounding of an intriguing subject which is too often treated lightly. It is particularly valuable for the attention it gives to health, class, race, and institutional practices, as well as for its speculations about change over time.