Barber surgeon
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The barber surgeon was one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom con
Franz Anton Maulbertsch's The Quack (c. 1785) shows barber surgeons at work.
Bloodletting set of a barber surgeon, beginning of 19th century, Märkisches Museum Berlin
Master John Banister's Anatomical Tables, with Figures. The paintings comprise a portrait of Banister delivering a visceral lecture at the Barber-Surgeons' Hall, Monkwell Street, London. c. 1580
Barbers advertised their profession with a pole, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. This pole belonged to Carl Schulz, father of the famous cartoonist.
Barber's pole
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A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a
Barber surgeon
…surgeries were carried out. Few traces of barbers' links with the surgical side of the medical profession remain. One is the traditional red and white barber's pole, or a modified instrument from a blacksmith, which is said to represent the blood and bandages associated with their historical role. In the United…
Barber pole, c. 1938, North Carolina Museum of History
Barber shop in Torquay, Devon, England, with red and white pole
Antique red and blue striped pole in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Red-and-white polkagris