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Story
April 5, 1913
Ventnor News
Ventnor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey
What is this article about?
An American tourist in London visits a barber shop and agrees to lie on a couch for his shave, only to learn the barber specializes in shaving corpses and has lost the habit of using the chair.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
American Visitor in London Got His Shave and Added Good Story to His Collection.
The barber's parlor is not nearly so common in London as in American cities. An American tourist was looking about for a place to get shaved and on one of the side streets found a place which had some of the window evidences of a barber shop. When he stepped inside he found a young man leisurely reading the morning paper. The place was small and there was only one barber's chair.
"Can I get a shave?" said the American.
"Yes, sir. I can shave you," said the young man.
The American proceeded to get himself comfortable in the chair when the young man said: "Would I be putting you to too much trouble, sir, if I asked you to lie down on your back on this couch, sir, instead of sitting up in the chair? I am sure I can make a better job of it, sir, and it will be quite as comfortable for you, sir."
The American was lazy enough to comply without protest and the shaving exercises proceeded very comfortably. When the barber had finished and had received his sixpence the American said, "Would you mind telling me why you prefer the couch to the chair?"
"It's just this way, sir," said the young man. "I'm not the regular barber here, but the proprietor, and we have quite a trade in shaving corpses, sir, and I am out nearly all the time doing this work and I sort of got out of the hang of shaving in a chair, sir; and I beg your pardon, but I hope you don't mind, sir."
The American didn't mind. It was worth it, for he has already told the story a thousand times.
The barber's parlor is not nearly so common in London as in American cities. An American tourist was looking about for a place to get shaved and on one of the side streets found a place which had some of the window evidences of a barber shop. When he stepped inside he found a young man leisurely reading the morning paper. The place was small and there was only one barber's chair.
"Can I get a shave?" said the American.
"Yes, sir. I can shave you," said the young man.
The American proceeded to get himself comfortable in the chair when the young man said: "Would I be putting you to too much trouble, sir, if I asked you to lie down on your back on this couch, sir, instead of sitting up in the chair? I am sure I can make a better job of it, sir, and it will be quite as comfortable for you, sir."
The American was lazy enough to comply without protest and the shaving exercises proceeded very comfortably. When the barber had finished and had received his sixpence the American said, "Would you mind telling me why you prefer the couch to the chair?"
"It's just this way, sir," said the young man. "I'm not the regular barber here, but the proprietor, and we have quite a trade in shaving corpses, sir, and I am out nearly all the time doing this work and I sort of got out of the hang of shaving in a chair, sir; and I beg your pardon, but I hope you don't mind, sir."
The American didn't mind. It was worth it, for he has already told the story a thousand times.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
What keywords are associated?
American Tourist
London Barber
Shaving Corpses
Humorous Anecdote
What entities or persons were involved?
American Tourist
Young Man
Where did it happen?
London
Story Details
Key Persons
American Tourist
Young Man
Location
London
Story Details
An American tourist in London gets a shave from a barber who asks him to lie on a couch, revealing he shaves corpses and prefers that position, adding a humorous tale to the tourist's collection.