Calling all Wakefield Men... We need your hair!

We are at the cutting edge of working on the next exhibition for Wakefield Museum.  Opening on 26 October, Men in the Mirror will explore men’s hair in all its glory!

The exhibition will explore the roots of the barber’s profession; untangle the history of shaving equipment; look at the changing face of men’s hair fashion; and of course will feature some of the most resplendent moustaches you have ever seen.

A fine example of the chevron style moustache.

BUT….we need your help.  In the museum collections we have piles of splendid pictures of Victorian facial hair, we have heaps of images of dapper gentlemen from the 1920s and 1930s….but we are low on hair from the 1950s onwards.

So we are asking for the Men of Wakefield to dig out their old photos and send us images of magnificent hair-dos and facial hair from the 1950s to the present day.

Have you ever sported  a mullet, did you emulate a famous rock star’s style; did your hair make a stand against ‘the man’ with a Mohican; did you let it hang long and loose in the summer of love; have you tried to hide balding with a comb over; has your hair been pink, gelled, permed, spiked, dread-locked, crimped, feathered,  ; have you modelled an afro, bowl cut, bob, quiff, bouffant, crew cut, undercut, corn rows, mop-top, pompadour, or have you always stuck to a short back and sides.

Don’t forget the facial hair… lurking in your loft is there a long hidden photo of a goatee; a marvellous muttonchop;  a pencil, handlebar, toothbrush, horseshoe or fu-manchu moustache; or our favourite, the big, the bushy, the beautiful, full beard.

If you have a photo you’d like to share with Wakefield Museum and see featured this hairy exhibition please: 

• e-mail it to us   

• post a copy to Wakefield Museum, Wakefield One, Burton Street, Wakefield, WF1 2EB (please note that the museum will be unable to return photos posted to us- so if you are particularly attached to it please make a copy!).

• bring a copy to Wakefield Museum reception desk

Please let us know your name, when the photo was taken, and anything you’d like to say about the hair featured!

This splendid neck beard dates from 1865 – 1885, taken in a photography studio in Wakefield.

This gentleman does right to pose with his hat off, who’d want to hide those marvellous hair tufts, they balance the chin curtain perfectly.

These stunning mutton chops are taken from a photograph album dating to 1889. 

The jaunty angle of the hat shows off those gorgeous waves beautifully, on this World War 2 soldier.