Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Bearded Gentleman Book Release, May 2010

I've referenced Peterkin's One Thousand Beards several times-- turns out he's co-authoring a new book about beards.  On the downside, the subtitle (The Style Guide To Shaving Face) and a co-author with a specialty in men's grooming, I suspect that it will be written from a high-maintenance, low-follicle-density, pro-shaving perspective.  On the upside, the book's blurb promises "practical advice on choosing a facial hair style that's right for you, as well as insight into how facial hair has figured in the history of masculinity, including its impact on politics, class, and sexuality." 


Sweet lord!  If there's a chapter on identity politics and gender expression, or a more focused follow-up of the "Post-Modern Beard," I anticipate delight.


For the active pogonologist, there's still plenty of back-reading on the subject to get through before May (see below). 

I've exhausted my local library.  These selections are shamelessly pulled from the sources pages of Peterkin's book and suggested reading from Wikipedia's articles on beards.   


A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, David W. Bercot, Editor, pg 66-67.

Adams Jr., Russell B., and King, C. Gillette: The Man and His Wonderful Shaving Device. Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., 1978.

The Art and Science of Shaving. Milford, CT: Warner-Lambert Co., 1994.

Alyson Almanac. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1990.

Andrews, William. At the Sign of the Barber Pole: Studies in Hirsute History. Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1969.

Asser, Joyce. Historic Hairdressing. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, 1966.

Banner, Lois W. American Beauty. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

Beers, Mark H., et al. Merck Manual. 7th Ed. Whitehorse, YT: Merck Research Laboratories, 1999.

Berg, Charles. The Unconscious Significance of Hair. Washington: Guild Press, 1951.

Boston, Lloyd. Men of Color: Fashion, History, Fundamentals. New York: Artisan, 1998.

Bunkin, Helen. Beards, Beards, Beards. Montgomery, AL: Green Street Press, 2000.

Charles, Ann and De Anfrasio, Roger. The History of Hair. New York: Bonanza Books, 1970.

Chevannes, Barry. Rastafari: Roots and Ideology. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994.

Cooper, Wendy. Hair: Sex, Society, Symbolism. New York: Stein & Day, 1971.

Corson, Richard. Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years. London: Peter Owen, 1965.

de Zemler, Charles. Once Over Lightly: The Story of Man and His Hair. New York: self-published, 1939.

Dunkling, Leslie and Foley, John. The Guinness Book of Beards and Moustaches. Middlesex: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1990.

Erardi, Glenn and Peck, Pauline C. Mustache Cups, Timeless Victorian Treasures. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Books, 1999.

Grief, Martin. The Gay Book of Days. New York: Main Street Press, 1989.

Grosswirth, Marvin. The Art of Growing a Beard. New York: Jarrow Press, Inc., 1971.

Horn, Barbara Lee. The Age of Hair: Evolution and Impact of Broadway’s First Rock Musical. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991.

Jones, Dylan. Haircults: Fifty Years of Styles and Cuts. London: Thames & Hudson, 1990.

McNeill, Daniel. The Face: A Guided Tour. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1998.

Panati, Charles. Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. New York: Perennial Library, 1987.

Perret, Jean Jacques. La Pogonotomia. Milano, Italy: il Polifilo, n.d.

Pinfold, Wallace G. A Closer Shave: Man’s Daily Search for Perfection. New York: Artisan, 1999.

Polhemus, Ted. Street Style: From Sidewalk to Catwalk. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995.

The Razor Anthology. A collection of selected articles about razors, reprinted from monthly issues of Knife World. Knoxville, TN: Knife World Publications, 1995.

Reynolds, Reginald. Beards: Their Social Standing, Religious Involvements, Decorative Possibilities, and Value in 
Offence and Defence Through the Ages. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1949.

Ritchie, Roy and Stewart, Ron. The Standard Guide to Razors. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1995.

Rosetree, Rose. The Power of Face Reading. Sterling: WIW Press, 1989.

Severn, Bill. The Long and the Short of It: Five Thousand Years of Fun and Fury over Hair. New York: David McKay Co., 1971.

Spillane, Mary. Presenting Yourself: A Personal Image Guide for Men. London: Judy Piatkus Ltd., 1994.

Wilcox, R. Turner. Dictionary of Costumes. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1969.

Woodforde, John. The History of Vanity. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1971.

Wright, Les, ed. The Bear Book: Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture. New York: 
Harrington Park Press, 1997.

The Bear Book II. New York: Harrington Park Press, 2001.

Ziff, Larzer. Puritanism in America: New Culture in a New World. New York: Viking, 1973.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

Jenna Williams said...

All of these posts only confirms my recent epiphany that beards can be an asset instead of just an intimidation factor (thank you, former latte boy, for providing such revelations). I'm still working on overcoming my long-standing impression that beards are merely pubic hair on the face...

lostberg said...

Wait, Jenna, does that mean you support my earlier post, proposing that a healthy bush is the female equivalent to male facial hair?

Jenna Williams said...

Not necessarily...I'm just saying, you know, along the lines of texture and appearance and the point in life in which both areas start to grow that hair.