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Wigs were made from blond, brown, or black human hair from Europe, brown horsehair from Asia, white yak hair from Tibet, and white goat hair from Turkey. If you were going to a formal occasion you wanted to be sure to have a white wig. Another thing you could get from a peruke maker was something called a queuq. These were hair pieces usually worn hanging at the back of the head like a ponytail. A person would get a queuq if you only had a limited need for a fashionable hairpiece or if you didn't have enough money to buy a wig. Image courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg. |
Today we might call a peruke maker a wig maker. If you wanted to be fashionable in 1790s Philadelphia, then you needed to wear a wig. It was almost a fashion necessity for gentlemen and successful businessmen. Just being able to afford a wig was a means of showing your wealth and status. Wealthy slave owners also purchased wigs for their slaves to show how wealthy they were.