Better late than never, I presented a conference about men hair during the 18th century with my boyfriend ( and historian) Michel Thévenin. If you want to see parts of it he published an article about it on his blog.
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| During our presentation in the New France Festival August 3th, 2019 |
We had a lot of good feedback and I want to thank people who went to see and hear us.
Here is a little bonus of information about the French Perruke maker that we did not really talk about during the presentation.
If the subject is interesting to you, you can read theses articles I made about perruke makers: What you can do as a perruke maker? and the one I made with the help of the historian Sophie Imbeault about perruke maker in New France (also about '' L'affaire du Canada'' and the differents papers of money)
Did wig were made in New France during 18th century?
We did not find direct proof that perruke maker were making wigs during 18th century. But the money that the perruke maker are asking back in change letters and letters of ordonnance in 1763-1764 ( between 210 and 4229 livres by wig maker) make us suppose that they were making the most expensive object they were allowed to make.
To compare the salary of the time, according to the exposition ''Paris en vitrine, les boutiques au 18ième siècle'' made by Steward Museum in 2018, a female domestic earns about 24 to 33 livres by year, a carter about 54 à 66 livres and a stable boy between 60 to 66 livres by year.
According to the exposition ''Noblesse oblige! Life of a Château in the 18th century'' of Château de Prangin, a National Museum of Switzerland a man domestic earns about 30 livres by semester so about 60 livres by year. The salary seams to look alike for the Parisian area than the country side (Prangins, if now in the Switzerland were consirered as a country side of France during the 18th century).
It is easier now to compare the annual salary of a male domestic, about 60 livres to the money asked by the wig maker named Larche of Montréal of 4229 livres. I really think that he was making the most lucrative activity: making wigs.
Little anecdote about a wig maker during the Seven Years War
During the notorious battle of the Plains of Abraham the 13th September of 1750, the young officer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who was based in Cap-Rouge, would have been alerted by a wig maker that the English were attacking. Who was he, where did he live, the History only remembers his trade...
Battle between two trades (at least in Paris)
You should not confuse coiffeur (hairdresser) and perruquier (wig maker)
The Perruke Maker trade was invented to follow the fashion of the King Louis XIII. This king was very proud of his thick, large, long dark hair. Unfortunately for him, he lost his hair after being really sick. He decided to wear false hair to regain his lost capillary proudness. According to L'art du Perruquier de M. de Garsault (1767), only wig makers are allowed to manipulate hair of both sexe. This includes barber shaving, hair cutting and placement and wig making.
It looks like French wig makers did neglect the woman because during the beginning of the 18th century another trade appear more or less legally: the coiffeur (hairdresser). In 18th century minds a coiffeur can only touches lady's hair. Remember that Wig makers are supposed to cut man and woman hair if they are not wearing a wig. In the 1760's and even a little before the woman hair fashion is changing quickly with more and more elaboration. Wig maker begins to understand that woman will make them earn more money in the future so they want to keep this clientele for themself and try to ban the coiffeurs (hairdressers). Inside the chapter about woman hair and wigs inside the ''Art du Perruquier'' of M. de Garsault write that people that arrange and cut woman hair, calling themself ''coeffeurs'' (hairdressers) are risking jail if they are not officially listed into the wig maker corporation because only wig makers are allowed to cut and arrange hair of both sexes!
An answer is published two years later into a booklet of 16 pages in 1769: L'art des coeffeurs de dames contre le méchanisme des perruquiers, poème. It is a long poem and the disaccord between wig maker (perruquier) and hairdresser (coiffeur) is obvious. The hairdresser beg the women to not let their hair to the wiggle brood (engeance perruquière) because they are not as artist as the hairdresser... It is hard to all translate but words are hard against the perruke maker.
During the 1760's it is clear that woman hairdressing is about to change into something more extravagant. Man wigs gradually declines during the second half of the 18th century so wig makers may have seen woman as a growing money income. The well known queen Marie-Antoinette will use creativity for her hairdressing during all her reign. During the 1770's the female hardressing and female wigs will definitely mark the representation of the 18th century until today. So the quarrel between coiffeurs (hairdressers) and perruquiers ( wig makers) on who can (and who can not) dress woman hair in 1767-1769 was having real issues for both of the trades and it was not futile.
To have a visual overview of the evolution of woman hairdressing, here are three portraits of Marie-Antoinette, queen of France made at different ages.
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| Portrait of 1769 by Joseph Ducreux Hair has began to elevate itself compared to the1740-1750's |
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| Portrait of 1775 by Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty Maximal height period with a new accessory: the ''pouf'''... |
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| Portrait of 1783 by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, The hair has lost the height, it is more large and puffy. |
Wigs in New France Inventories
Lastly, a word to mentions that two of the inventories of New France replicated in the '' lexique illustré de la Nouvelle-France 1740-1760 ''par Suzanne et André Gousse are containing wigs, . Suzanne Gousse is also the principal creator behind the pattern brand La Fleur de Lyse.
Here are the littles details I wanted to share about the wig makers in New France. I hope you liked id.
Mlle Canadienne
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