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How were Barber Shaving Basin Used?

Dear wise forum members,

These basins appear to have the same design from around the world, seemingly either made of porcelain or metal.

I have always wondered how these shaving basins were used and why there is a notch in the basin, could anyone please enlighten me and banish my ignorance?

My best guess, probably foolishly wrong, is that these were held up to the face when lathering and the notch is for someones neck. But it just seems so impractical. Was it only when applying the lather by the barber to someone's face? My internet searches have not yielded any fruit.

Thanks you.



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Got my answer after a deeper dive... bloodletting and probably surgery by barber surgeons. I remember being told about the history of Barber Surgeons and the blood and bandages barber polls etc. by some of my clients.

My thinking connected dots and were likely turned into these kidney dishes.

Any further info would be appreciated.

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Barbers and Surgeons became separate professions while these bowls were in use, so it's probably incorrect to think they were for bloodletting.

My understanding is, the customer held the basin for the barber as he was being shaved. You can see there is a depression in some of these bowls to hold soap for shaving. These were the days before running water. The barber would make up some lather in the bowl before shaving and then use it for a customer. After the shave, it would be rinsed off in preparation for the next shave and hung on the wall.

s-basin.png
 

Got my answer after a deeper dive... bloodletting and probably surgery by barber surgeons. I remember being told about the history of Barber Surgeons and the blood and bandages barber polls etc. by some of my clients.

My thinking connected dots and were likely turned into these kidney dishes.

Any further info would be appreciated.

View attachment 1216473

Great thread!
Welcome to B&B, Sir JohnPS!
 
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Thank you for the replies, really appreciated.

The tradition of the notch conforming to the body is like barber/hair dressing hair wash bowls of today also. Which likely developed later and almost certainly from this tradition.

According to what is available the barber surgeons used this as a utility multi purpose bowl of sorts. The surgeons became their own profession in 1800, however example of these bowls can be found hundreds of years earlier. The last barber surgeon in England died in 1821. And these basins were around long before the separation of professions.

What I am certain about now is that blood letting was practiced and bowls were used to catch the blood. My hypothesis of the kidney bowl also steaming from these bowls seems far more supported by the evidence of blood letting on the medical/museum sites. Perhaps they had different bowls, one for blood letting and one for lathering.

A quick google reveals these to be called "Bloodletting Bowls", geez! and there is a fair amount of medical literature including the tools of the trade.... here's a good site.... Let It Bleed - https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/let-it-bleed

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I much prefer Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker in that role.
I'll be the first to admit that my introduction to opera came from watching cartoons, in particular "What's Opera, Doc?" with Bugs Bunny, as a kid. Over time, I came to love operas. The Barber of Seville is one of my favorites and I've used it to introduce others to opera (by this I mean taking them to watch an entire performance). Another favorite is Porgy and Bess, which works well for introducing American audiences (especially those who like musicals) to opera. Oddly enough, one of my little nieces, who is only seven years old, loves the Queen of the Night's aria from The Magic Flute, but I have no idea where she first heard it; I plan to introduce her to the genre with that opera.
 
Dear wise forum members,

These basins appear to have the same design from around the world, seemingly either made of porcelain or metal.

I have always wondered how these shaving basins were used and why there is a notch in the basin, could anyone please enlighten me and banish my ignorance?

My best guess, probably foolishly wrong, is that these were held up to the face when lathering and the notch is for someones neck. But it just seems so impractical. Was it only when applying the lather by the barber to someone's face? My internet searches have not yielded any fruit.

Thanks you.



View attachment 1216467
View attachment 1216468View attachment 1216469

What size are these? Diameter?
 
Thank you.
Strange.
Can't imagine it was used as a catch basin for shaving though. Its not like a river of shave cream is falling from the face.
A towel was very commonly used - laid across the patrons chest, hell, even on the Escher stone there is no basin at the neck, only a towel.
If it was necessary it would have been practiced in the 30,s,40,s and 50's too but no mention of it in Barber manuals from the 30's and on.
 
Thank you.
Strange.
Can't imagine it was used as a catch basin for shaving though. Its not like a river of shave cream is falling from the face.
A towel was very commonly used - laid across the patrons chest, hell, even on the Escher stone there is no basin at the neck, only a towel.
If it was necessary it would have been practiced in the 30,s,40,s and 50's too but no mention of it in Barber manuals from the 30's and on.
I think the difference is does the barber shop have running water or not. Without running water, the barber would heat water for shaving on a stove and pour hot water into one of these bowls to make lather with. You can see a depression on the side of one of these bowls to hold the soap. The soap is even pictured on the bowl (little ovoid shapes). The bowl holds the brush and the lather. When the shave is done, the bowl is rinsed and hung up on the wall.
 
Thank you.
Strange.
Can't imagine it was used as a catch basin for shaving though. Its not like a river of shave cream is falling from the face.
A towel was very commonly used - laid across the patrons chest, hell, even on the Escher stone there is no basin at the neck, only a towel.
If it was necessary it would have been practiced in the 30,s,40,s and 50's too but no mention of it in Barber manuals from the 30's and on.

I agree... the primary use was unlikely for lather but rather for blood letting and surgery. There is a small depression in the rim of many of these bowls, this unlikely for a brush nor razor... so what is for? Cream? They didn't use cream but soap back then. Cream is a new invention relatively speaking. When I investigated, the small lancets/scalpels used for nicking and cutting could be place there.

The more I looked into this, gradually the more absurd that this was used for lather. Towels were used obviously. The dish may have been used for a rinse and to catch water. However these were too small.

What even more absurd is the notion of not having running water as the reason for these catchers, this has nothing to do with a shave at a barber to this day!

The fact that these disappeared when the profession split into barbers and surgeons is testament to this. I submit that the modern kidney bowl is the modern equivalent of the Barber Surgeon Blood Catching/Surgical Bowl. You can see the use of these kidney bowls in surgeries and for example when excising a sebaceous cyst, the bowl is placed against the body and the cyst is drained into it, literally a catcher. The barber surgeons were the ones to perform this and many other duties.

As the rise of knowledge of disease, the doctrine of the humors was viewed with distain and embarrassment. Just like injecting mercury, saying asbestos is safe, prescribing cigarettes etc. That's why the medical historical records are so important, they record these facts.
 
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VESSELS (CONTAINERS), IMPLEMENTS, UTENSILS, ETC., MEDICAL EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
Bleeding bowl
  • 1752


Bowls like this one were used to catch the blood released by bleeding. The appearance of blood was a useful diagnostic tool for physicians, who examined it for clues about the body's internal state. This large bowl was capable of holding a great deal of blood, but its maker encouraged moderation by stamping "BLEED ME LIGHT" in the basin.

 
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