A Penny Barber

Thomas Rowlandson, 1789

This print features a scene in a barber shop. In the center, a tall person with a pointed nose and chin wearing a large white wig holds a shaving bowl. To the right, a person covered in a white cloth sits in a chair looking upwards, their chin covered in a white substance. A person on the left in front of a large blue window appears to wash their hands in a bowl, while another in the background uses a tool to press down on a wig that rests on a mannequin head. The characters all have light skin and wear garments in blue or white. Hanging from the ceiling is a blue sign that reads "The oldest shaving shop in London, most mony for second hand wigs." There is a bird cage perched above the window on the left.
Artist
Thomas Rowlandson
Date
1789
Type
Print
Medium
hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
36.3 × 25.5 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

This print features a scene in a barber shop. In the center, a tall person with a pointed nose and chin wearing a large white wig holds a shaving bowl. To the right, a person covered in a white cloth sits in a chair looking upwards, their chin covered in a white substance. A person on the left in front of a large blue window appears to wash their hands in a bowl, while another in the background uses a tool to press down on a wig that rests on a mannequin head. The characters all have light skin and wear garments in blue or white. Hanging from the ceiling is a blue sign that reads "The oldest shaving shop in London, most mony for second hand wigs." There is a bird cage perched above the window on the left.

Thomas Rowlandson