A Ring Lardner hero was harangued in one. Crime boss Albert Anastasia was shot in one. Crooner Perry Como used to work in one. The American barbershop is a place of folklore, conjuring warm associations-male bonding, a cappella singing, bay rum, bookmaking and braggadocio-and darker ones-bloodletting and violence.
But barbershops have an existence outside the realm of myth. They are real places where real hair gets cuts down in the prime of life. Time may change them. No longer are barbershops always loutish and exclusively masculine, home to parlay cards and pinup calendars. They are more likely these days to feature upscale decor and the latest in ear-lowering technology, with prices to match. Not to mention a lady barber or two. But as long as there is a need for hairline regulation, barbershops will never go out of style. Freelance photographer Richard Younker has here assembled a pictorial tribute to our town`s practitioners, the guys who work just a cut above this city`s broad shoulders. So here they are, the barbers of Chi-ville.
