Traditional American Barbershops

One of the best/hardest parts of working on long term projects focused on one subject matter is the bar is always rising. And that has definitely been the case for Barbershops of America. Traditional shops are a dying breed as is, and after seeing countless shops (good and bad) over the past 10 years, I’ve become quite specific about which shops I want to include in this project. Despite lots of travel and searching for shops over the past year+, the efforts have been fruitless, finding almost nothing worthy of documentation. Sort of hard to believe, actually. Searching for that long without positive results can make you think hard about the project. Is it done? Have I truly found and photographed all the remaining traditional barbershops in America? All of that doubt was erased recently after finding two incredible shops. Nicholson’s Barbershop in Raleigh, NC has been around for 40 years and Patsy’s Barbershop in Albany, NY first opened its doors in 1930! I was born in Albany, lived nearby for 25 years, have been going back at least twice a year for the past 18 years, and just last week discovered Patsy’s. Even more strange, the current owner is a former bouncer that used to, for good reason, throw my friends and I out of the bar. Funny how life works.

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