Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1919 — Why the Barber Pole Is Painted Red and White [ARTICLE]

Why the Barber Pole Is Painted Red and White

-The barber pole is a souvenir of the days when all kinds of business were represented by pictorial signs, largely because ability to read was not general. An explanation of the barber pole Is that It comes from the time when barberlng was done by surgeons or physicians and when the practice of bleeding for all kinds of illness prevailed. The barber stripes, according to this explanation, picture the blood stain on white cloth so frequently to be observed after taking the bleeding treatment. The barber pole has nothing to do with national colors.