Prince Bulbo's Hairdresser
W. M. Thackeray
1855
Wood engraving, probably by William Linton
7.5 cm high by 4.2 cm wide (2 ⅞ by 1 ⅝ inches), vignetted
Twenty-third illustration for Thackeray’s The Rose and The Ring, p. 337.
Descriptive headline: "Giglio's Jealous of the Crim-Tartar Prince and Laughs at Him" (pp. 336-337). Bulbo proves something of a clothes-horse, and has a tonsorial obsession as great as any eighteenth-century fop's: his demand for the services of a hairstylist results in the guest's appearing twenty-five minutes late for dinner.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
Passage Illustrated: Prince Bulbo's Eighteenth-century Hairdresser
"What are you two people chattering about there?" says the Queen, who was rather good-natured, though not overburthened with wisdom. "It is time to dress for dinner. Giglio, show Prince Bulbo to his room. Prince, if your clothes have not come, we shall be very happy to see you as you are." But when Prince Bulbo got to his bedroom, his luggage was there and unpacked; and the hairdresser coming in, cut and curled him entirely to his own satisfaction . . . . [Chapter VIII, "How Gruffanuff Picked the Fairy Ring Up, and Prince Bulbo Came to Court," pp. 336-337]
Bulbo's Other Servants in Period Costume
Above: Thackeray's interpretations of the other servants, The Pastry Cook and, in appropriate livery, Gruffanuff, The Porter (sixteenth and seventh illustrations).
Bibliography
Furniss, Harry. The Rose and The Ring; or, The History of Prince Giglio and the Prince Bulbo. William Makepeace Thackeray's Christmas Books. With illustrations by the author and Harry Furniss. The Harry Furniss Centenary Edition. London: Macmillan and Co., 1911. Pp. 287-428.
Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray].The Rose and The Ring. London: Smith, Elder, 1855.
Created 24 July 2022