The Sir David Kirch Collection of Skit Notes

Beauty & Elegance, 29, Old Jewry, Cheapside, a note advertising the services of A. Gardner who ‘will Cut, Dress & Arrange any Lady or Gentleman’s Hair in a Superior style of forfeit the sum of one thousand pounds’, London, 29 May 1822, signature of Arthur Gardner and a lovely vignette of justice at left, remains of mounting on reverse, a few holes at folds, overall fine and very scarce, an attractive note
Outing unlisted £150-£200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Sir David Kirch Collection of Skit Notes.

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Collection

Arthur Gardner was born in Paisley in 1793. He married in 1824 and had a great many children. It appears he kept this salon at the Old Jewry for most of his life. He is found in newspapers in 1838 advertising ‘Turkish Balzone Liquid Hair Dye to change the colour of red or grey hair to any given shade’. The note also mentions ‘From the Late Ross’s’ which possibly refers to the nearby Ross and Sons Hairdressers, where Arthur Gardner may well have trained.
It is amusing to note that this item is being offered for sale almost 200 years to the day after it was first produced.