I'm curious how common self-shaving with straights was in the days before safety razors. I read somewhere that most men visited a barber once a week or so for a shave, though wealthy men might have straights on hand (and a servant who was handy with them). Recently, I was watching a BBC historical documentary called "Edwardian Farm", where a historian and two archaeologists live and work on a farm as people would have around the turn of the 20th century. Though they visited a barber at the beginning of the series, later we see one of them shaving with a brush and straight before he starts the day. I wonder if barbershop shaves were mostly an urban thing, with men in the country more likely to shave themselves (or not at all). Anyway, it stoked my curiosity.
By the way, the show is great. Definitely worth checking out!
By the way, the show is great. Definitely worth checking out!