Even in its rough and wild youth, as it was being transformed from “muddy little York” into just-as-muddy Toronto, the city had its refinements. In the 1830s, when the population was well under 10,000 souls, there were several boot and shoe makers, hatters and milliners, soap manufacturers and watchmakers and a whole bumper crop of tailors. In short, there were enough people concerned with your appearance that you could almost imagine you were a dandy on a London street rather than a pioneer of a colonial outpost. Of course, you could be as well-turned out as the next city forefather, but it was all for naught if your sideburns were getting out of hand and you needed a haircut. Enter Toronto’s remarkable band of barbers …

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