author

Mark Campbell

1831–1912

A little-known 19th-century American writer and printer, he is remembered for a remarkably detailed guide to hair work, hairdressing, and jewelry making. His book opens a window onto a craft world that mixed practical skill, fashion, and Victorian ingenuity.

1 Audiobook

Self-instructor in the art of hair work, dressing hair, making curls, switches, braids, and hair jewelry of every description.

Self-instructor in the art of hair work, dressing hair, making curls, switches, braids, and hair jewelry of every description.

by Mark Campbell

About the author

Born in 1831 and identified in major library records as an American author, Mark Campbell is best known for Self-instructor in the Art of Hair Work, Dressing Hair, Making Curls, Switches, Braids, and Hair Jewelry of Every Description, first published in 1867.

In the book's preface, he presents himself as someone writing from experience and responding to demand for clear instruction in a craft that had often been kept secret. The result is an unusually thorough manual filled with practical guidance on hair dressing, braiding, and the making of decorative hairwork and jewelry.

Although biographical details about his life are scarce in the sources available here, his surviving work has lasting interest as both a how-to book and a snapshot of 19th-century style and domestic craft. He died in 1912.