A penny barber

Rowlandson, Thomas, 1756-1827 · 1789

A stout old gentleman, enveloped in a barber's cloth, has taken his seat in the shaving-chair ; his wig is removed and his chin plenteously lathered ; the aproned barber is still employed with his soap and basin. One customer is performing an ablution ; and the assistant, whose hair is dressed in the wildest French style, is smoothing down a compact full-bottomed old-fashioned wig. One or two barber's blocks, a cracked glass, and a bird in a cage form the chief embellishments, to which must be added a lantern lighted by a single candle and inscribed with this information, 'The oldest shaving shop in London. Most money for second-hand wigs!'