The Wigmaker in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg An Account of His Barbering, Hair-dressing, & Peruke-Making Services, & Some Remarks on Wigs of Various Styles.

Step into the bustling streets of 18th‑century Williamsburg, where the clatter of scissors and the scent of powdered wigs fill the air. Through the lens of Richard Gamble—a lifelong bachelor barber and perukemaker—you’ll discover how ordinary craftsmen navigated a world where lawsuits were as routine as a morning shave, and debt could even land you in jail. The narrative weaves together courtroom drama, personal advertisements, and the everyday rhythm of a trade that served everyone from modest townsfolk to the colony’s most influential planters.

Beyond Gamble, the book paints a vivid portrait of a small community of hair‑dressers, from the London‑trained Edward Charlton to the tavern‑owner‑turned‑wigmaker Alexander Finnie. Their stories reveal the precarious economics of the profession, the shifting fashions that would soon render wigs obsolete, and the social fabric of a colonial capital on the brink of change. Richly sourced from court records and a newly uncovered account book, the account brings to life a forgotten craft and the people who kept Williamsburg’s heads stylishly adorned.