Author: PHW

Tickets are still available for both the afternoon and evening showings at the Samuel Noakes House on Saturday. The office will be closing at 3 PM today to set up for the event, but you can still make your reservations either through the PayPal links below or leave us a message at 540-667-3577 with your preferred time and pay at the door on Saturday. And if you are running very late, a few tickets might be left to be purchased Saturday at the door.

Can’t make it to the event but want to bid on an item? You may leave your contact information and your proxy bid by emailing us at phwi@verizon.net or leaving a message at 540-667-3577. Make sure you send in your proxy bids no later than March 9 at 5 p.m. for the afternoon showing, and 8 p.m. for the evening items!Afternoon Showing, 3-5 p.m. – $20 admission

Evening Showing, 6-8 p.m. – $30 admission

The reception and silent auction to celebrate the completion of the Samuel Noakes House on March 9 is drawing closer. While we count down until March 9, a number of items that will be available at the auction will be highlighted in the PHW blog.

The last item we will highlight in the silent auction is the fabulous Emil J. Paidar barber chair, circa 1940 and still in working condition. The manufacture of “modern” barber chairs can be traced back to shortly after the Civil War. By 1880s, barber chairs could be raised, lowered, reclined and revolved, and in 1900, the familiar hydraulic-operated barber chair was patented.

In 1900 there were two American primary dealers for barber chairs, Emil J. Paidar and Koken. Sources indicate the Emil J. Paidar Company of Chicago, Illinois was the leading company through the 1950s, producing top of the line barber chairs along with other barber shop necessities. The Koken and Paidar chairs were similar in function and price points.

This balance between the barber chair manufacturers lasted until a third competitor arrived on the scene, Takara. Takara, a Japanese company, was expanding their operations overseas in the 1950s. The US Tariff Commission wrote of Takara in 1970:

After World War II a vigorous new barber chair industry grew up in Japan. Through energetic design, sales and advertising campaigns, this industry built up the barber chair market in Japan until it is larger than that of the United States, despite the smaller population of Japan.

Takara produced chairs of almost identical style and function to the Paidar and Koken chairs for substantially less and took advantage of decreasing tariffs to expand their operations in America. Imports increased dramatically in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, supplanting the American-manufactured barber chairs.

In an additional clever move, Takara found another, indirect way to up the competition with the American manufacturers. The Takara chair parts are interchangeable with the Paidar and Koken chairs, so if a piece of an existing chair was broken, it could be replaced with the less costly Takara part.

Takara purchased the struggling Koken company in 1969 and thus obtained 70% of the market for barber chairs in the United States. Paidar appealed to the US Tariff Commission for assistance and/or increased import levies against the foreign competition in 1968 and again in 1970, but to no avail. The Takara Belmont company remains the leading manufacturer today.

To see learn more about Paidar’s rise and fall in the production of barber chairs, visit www.antiquebarberchairs.net and www.usitc.gov.

If you would like to own this piece of history, tickets are still available for both the afternoon and evening reception and silent auction on March 9. Remember, the barber chair will be available only during the evening showing! Reserve your spot online via PayPal, or make your reservation by mailing in a check payable to PHW to 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601.

Afternoon Showing, 3-5 p.m. – $20 admission

Evening Showing, 6-8 p.m. – $30 admission

The reception and silent auction to celebrate the completion of the Samuel Noakes House on March 9 is drawing closer. While we count down until March 9, a number of items that will be available at the auction will be highlighted in the PHW blog.

The Peoples Barber Shop sign will be available for bidding during the evening showing. The sign, which graced the Noakes house for more than 60 years, is another testament to the enduring quality and quantity of advertising from Coca-Cola.

In addition to the standard shop sign proclaiming the location of the Peoples Barber Shop, the sign features two red Coca-Cola button signs. The button signs are weathered from their many years outdoors, but are still largely intact and identifiable.

The button signs were produced by Temco, a company based in Nashville, TN. The signs, advertised as “Porcelain is Permanent,” are made from metal coated with a porcelain enamel. Signs generally ranged in size from 12-36″ and came in a variety of colors and logos.

To see learn more about the Temco Coca-Cola signs, visit www.vintagevending.com and www.collectorsweekly.com.

If you would like to own this piece of history, tickets are still available for both the afternoon and evening reception and silent auction on March 9. Remember, the People Barber Shop sign will be available only during the evening showing! Reserve your spot online via PayPal, or make your reservation by mailing in a check payable to PHW to 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601.

Afternoon Showing, 3-5 p.m. – $20 admission

Evening Showing, 6-8 p.m. – $30 admission

The reception and silent auction to celebrate the completion of the Samuel Noakes House on March 9 is drawing closer. While we count down until March 9, a number of items that will be available at the auction will be highlighted in the PHW blog.

Two cold frames made by PHW Board Member Nancy Murphy from windows removed from the Noakes house will be available at the silent auction. One will be available during the afternoon showing, and one during the evening showing. Cold frames are used to protect plants from excessively cold or wet conditions. It functions like a greenhouse, extending the growing season for outdoor plants. A cold frame can be used to shelter tender seedlings in early spring or as the permanent home for cold-hardy fall and winter vegetables.

The re-purposed windows show early construction methods, including historic glass and pegged construction techniques. Until about the 1940s, window frames were usually made by a specialized type of carpenter, called a joiner. A joiner’s specialty is assembling wood using traditional techniques instead of mechanical means, such as nails and screws.

The joiner would usually construct window frames using mortise and tenon joints, as seen in these windows from the Noakes House. The tenon (a peg-like protrusion of wood, generally rectangular in shape) was inserted into the mortise (the hole) to weld the two pieces of wood together. A well-crafted joint will allow for the natural expansion and contraction of wood with humidity and temperature changes without causing splitting and cracking over time.

The cold frame windows have six lights, or panes of glass. Until the 1920s, all glass making procedures were labor-intensive, hands-on jobs for skilled craftsmen. Several approaches were available to produce window glass in the 18th and 19th centuries, though none produced the optically clear and bright glass we are familiar with today. Almost all historic glass contains imperfections of waves and/or trapped air bubbles from the manufacturing methods. In addition, the early methods to produce the glass limited the potential maximum size of the panes. The windows were therefore one of the greatest expenses in early construction.

To learn more about the historic construction techniques of windows, particularly glass and early carpentry, you may be interested in visiting The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Restoration Glass, and www.motherbedford.com/GlassTax.htm.

If you would like to own this practical, “up-cycled” piece of history, tickets are still available for both the afternoon and evening reception and silent auction on March 9. Reserve your spot online via PayPal, or make your reservation by mailing in a check payable to PHW to 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601.

Afternoon Showing, 3-5 p.m. – $20 admission

Evening Showing, 6-8 p.m. – $30 admission