If you take a walk in a bustling metropolitan or in any residential area, you would notice people, cars and shops. People sitting down and people talking. Busy shops and quiet cafés. You would see people in restaurants, shops or possibly in a salon as well right? Well, all of them entered the shop they did possibly because of a promotion pole, online advertising, its board or maybe through a friend.
But what if I told you that there is a shop that you could notice far down the street just because of a pole? What if I were to tell you that this pole is not a random object but rather that it has history that significantly outlasts the Victorian era by quite a few centuries!
If you have guessed what I have been talking about, then you are absolutely correct if you were thinking of the barber’s pole. If you were not, then let me explain what I was referring to because I am sure you have noticed it at some point. Well, I am referring to distinctive cylindrical pole with red/blue and white stripes.
But this is not just something that you would find at one or two barber shops have. Roughly 80 to 90% of the world’s standalone barber shops have it outside the shops. So, you may ask what is its purpose?
Well how would you know that a shop you are looking for is right down the street without looking at a board. Without asking and without Google as well. For that you would need a pole that sticks out. Thus, this distinctive pole was adopted.
But another question remains. Why do these salons have it? Did the barbers create a WhatsApp group and agree to having it placed outside? Well, that question requires a dive into the ages.
During the Middle Ages, if a person needed a surgery, people did not go to a surgeon. As surprising and crazy as it may sound, it was pretty common for people to go to a barber for tooth extraction or bloodletting.
So, these barbers would perform this surgery, and legend has it that they would dry out the blood-soaked bandages outside under the sun. This became a common practice, and more and more bandages were hung on poles which gave a rather unique identity to the barber practice.
However, displaying blood outside in public was eventually banned (for reason only the modern world can relate with), and it is said that barbers did not want to lose that identity.
They were banned from doing surgeries but slowly barbers started using a pole with stripes turning around it. After the formation of the Company of Barbers and Surgeons of London, a statute required the barber to use a red and white pole and the surgeon to use a red pole.
In the Kingdom of France, surgeons used such red poles with a basin attached to identify their offices. White symbolized the bandage while red showed the blood. In fact, in the US, you would also find the colour blue which has often been stated to represent the veins!
Slowly manufacturing these barber poles became an industry. Not a big one, but surely a distinctive business. Prior to 1950, there were four manufacturers of barber poles in the United States.
In 1950, William Marvy of St. Paul, Minnesota, started manufacturing barber poles. Marvy made over 82,000 had been produced by 2010. The William Marvy Company is now the sole manufacturer of barber poles in North America.
Thousands of years down the line, back to modern day, and these poles have withstood the test of time. So, the next time you cross a barber’s shop, remember that the pole standing outside is not just a random ornament. It is a symbol of history and the changes that have happened in society.
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Credits for The Legendary Poles that Withstood Time
1. Embedded GIF: Wikipedia
