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It’s a Good Hair Day!

Posted by Jane Metters LaBarbara.
June 11th, 2019

Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Assistant Director, WVRHC.

Having a good hair day? Or is it time for a new do?  Humans have been cutting, coloring, curling, and styling their hair since ancient times. This week the Center blog includes a sample of images that show shampoos, haircuts, hair dressers, barber shops, and beauty salons in West Virginia.  Enjoy!

Seated man wrapped in sheet, awaiting haircut, between two women

WVU Engineering student W. J. Brunner ready for a haircut, Morgantown, W. Va., ca. 1898. (id# 010330)

Woman dressing the hair of another woman, while another woman does the nails of a fourth woman.

Women doing hair and nails at the Eliz. P. Key Manicure Parlor in the Union Trust Building, Parkersburg, W. Va., 1907. (id# 007759)

Interior of a barbershop full of barbers and customers

Charley Wats and Charles R. Summers at the Barber Shop in Glady, W. Va., ca. 1910. (id# 030625)

Barber brushing man's hair

A man sits while a barber combs and styles his hair, likely in Harrison County, W. Va., ca. 1910. (id# 052302)

Man receiving a haircut outdoors while other men look on

Surveyor Samuel Garnett gets a haircut outdoors while others wait their turn. Garnett was hired to mark the West Virginia – Maryland border.  This image is circa 1911. (id# 040773)

Soldiers reading newspaper outside while waiting as outdoor barber combs another soldier's hair

Soldiers take a barber break at Camp Lee, Virginia, ca. 1917.  Men read while waiting their turn with the barber in a make-shift outside “shop.” Many West Virginians trained at Camp Lee for fighting in Europe during World War I. Most were members of the 313th, 314th and 315th Field Artillery Units. (id# 040891)

Barber standing in the interior of his shop

Barber in his shop at Upper Avis, Hinton, W. Va., ca. 1925. (id# 045827)

Man demonstrates washing a boy's hair over a bowl as group of boys watches outdoors

Boys learn proper grooming and shampooing techniques at the Boy’s State 4-H Camp at Jackson’s Mill, 1936.  (id# 026602)

Four women under hairdryers in a salon as male staffer looks on

Interior of Joe Ponka’s Beauty Shop, Morgantown, W. Va., 1937. Roberta Armstrong and Connie Linton are identified in the photograph.  (id# 000029)

African-american boys giving each other haircuts inside a barbershop

Residents give and get haircuts at the Industrial School for Colored Boys, Lakin, W. Va., 1948. (id# 013325)

Female student dresses the hair of a mannequin as two others look on.

Students at the Morgantown Beauty College practice on a mannequin head, ca. 1962.  E. Joy Lynch is pictured at left. (id# 010183)

Hairdresser combing woman's hair

Patty Watson at the hairdresser, Morgantown, W. Va., ca. 1963. (id# 010396)

Find more fun images like these in West Virginia History OnView, the WV & Regional History Center’s online photograph database.

One Response to 'It’s a Good Hair Day!'

  1. Gilbert Wander Says:

    For those who haven’t visited West Virginia yet, I highly encourage you to go and explore the beauty salons here. The number of options for haircuts, colors, and styles are remarkable. Being pampered by a top-notch stylist in one of these beautiful salons is a great way to spend a day in West Virginia.

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