Great attention grabber for a barber shop window. Even though it might look like an antique, this small wooden barber pole was hand-turned on a lathe and then hand-painted by me recently. It has a weathered look for that antique effect. Most barber poles have 4 stripes, but this pole has 8 stripes (4 white, 2 red & 2 blue), which is not very common. The pole by itself is 19" tall and is 3 1/4" in diameter at its widest point. The small wood plaque that the rust colored wrought iron bracket is mounted to is about 6 1/2" tall by 5" wide. From the top of the plaque to the bottom of the pole (which includes the bracket, chain, and pole seen in photos) is about 35" in length. The pole is made of solid pine. This was a style in the 1800s and early 1990s where the barber pole could be hung in the interior of a barber shop, in front of a window. This kept the barber pole from weather damage and theft, but still visible from the outside. The different photos show the various sides of the pole, allowing you to see it from all angles. The wooden globe at the bottom is painted an antique gold color. The barber pole has a recessed hanger on the back for easy hanging. It just needs a nail or screw in the wall to hang the plaque on. If there is a favorite side of the pole you like, the snap hook attached to the pole will swivel.
Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, this style of barber pole was mostly designed to hang in front of a window inside the barber shop to keep the pole from the weather or being stolen, but it could be hung anywhere inside. The pole will come with 12" of aged-looking chain along with a swivel snap hook that the pole is hooked to for a standard display, but if you need extra chain for your situation, I will add extra chain up to 36" long for no extra charge. Just measure how much chain you need and send me a note with your order. This pole will make a great addition for a barber shop, a collector of barber nostalgia, or a colorful decoration for a wall.
The first barber pole I made was way back in 1980, so I've been making barber poles on and off for a long time. Check out my eBay store for other barber poles I've made. Some were made back in the 1980s that I had stored away for more than 40 years. This pole wasn't designed to be outdoors. For inside only. Besides, if it were to be mounted outside, I guarantee you that someone would try to steal it, thinking it's a real antique. Free shipping to the lower 48 states. No international shipping.
A quick history of the barber pole: Originally, barber poles in the USA had only red and white stripes, but before there were barber poles as we see them today, the barber had a tall pole (usually white) outside the shop. Back in those days, barbers not only cut hair, but some were also surgeons and dentists. If you had high blood pressure, they would bleed you, and then they would wrap the wounds with long cloth bandages. Since the bandages would get soaked in blood, the barber would hang them up to dry on the pole outside before they were either washed or thrown away. If they didn't dry them first, then they would start to smell like something had died. When there was a breeze or wind, the now red bandages would wrap around the pole in a spiral pattern. Eventually, barbers started painting a red spiral stripe around a white pole, which signified they were a barber-surgeon. Many years later, American barbers started adding a blue stripe to the pole, either to represent blood veins or to Americanize the poles with the flag colors. As we know now, barbers can only cut hair and do shaves but they still basically use the same sign as they did centuries ago.