Wigs from the Art du Perruquier and the Encyclopédie.

Plate from the Art du perruquier

The wigs of the mid-century are illuminated by two major technical publications, the Art du perruquier sponsored by the Académie des sciences, published in 1761 and the article "Perruquier" which appeared in Volume 12 of the Encyclopédie in December 1765. As the 19th-century historian of fashion Quicherat observed, the information for the Encyclopédie article was largely "furnished by the Corporation" (p.575-6). 

These quasi-official trade publications placed less emphasis that did Molé on the passing whims of the petits-maîtres. In the Art du perruquier Antoine Quarré observed that there were currently seven or eight basic types of wig available, some of which had gone out of vogue, though "like all fashions in France" they were likely to return to favour (p.6). The two sources both include engravings which showed the various different styles: these illustrations are very similar, even though the  plates for the Encyclopédie did not appear until 1771.The list of wigs is the same, save only that the Encyclopédie adds an extra, the perruque à cadogan. 

Non-literary sources confirm that these wigs do indeed represent the kind of choices available to respectable consumers, both in Paris and the provinces.  The Rouen wigmaker Le Tellier, whose mid-century account book has been studied by Michael Kwass, offered an array of shorter and neater wigs at a range of different prices. The cheapest was the perruque en bonnet - the simple round bob wig of the gentleman farmer, bourgeois, doctor or surgeon - at 12-20 livres. This was the wig that Rousseau adopted when he quit Parisian high society for the simple life of the countryside. The perruque à bourse, or bagwig, was also popular and inexpensive, although there were elegant versions as well.  Le Tellier's most expensive wig was a perruque à noeuds (27-35 livres), which featured knotted hair hanging down the back ( Kwass (2006) p.646-7)

Encyclopédie Plate VII
Types of 18th  century wigs.

1 and 2: Interior and exterior of a bonnet wig
3 and 4: Interior and exterior of a bag wig.  A the bag.  BB Buckle and strap.
5 and 6: Interior and exterior of a knotted wig.  AA the knots.  B. spiral curl.
7. Knot of the same wig.
8. Spiral curl of the same wig.
9. Bag, A. Rosette, BB. cords.
10. and 11:  Interior and exterior of a natural wig.
12 and 13: Exterior and interior of an abbé wig.  
AA the tonsure.
14 and 15:  Interior and exterior of a Brigadier wig.  AA spiral curls.  B. Rosette
16. Spiral curls of same wig.
17. Rosette of same wig.  AA cords.




















Plate VIII
1 and 2:  Exterior and interior of wig with two tails.  AA Tails;  BB rosettes
3 and 4: Exterior and interior of a squared wig. AA spiral curl.
5 and 6: Interior and exterior of a Catogan wig.  AA the Catogan.

The remaining wigs on this page are women's.

 




















The Wigs illustrated:

Bonnet or Perruque courte

A round wig, the hair lengthening to a greater or lesser degree at the back (Art du perruquier A; Encyclopédie, fig.1 and 2)

Perruque en bourse 

The classic bagwig, with long flat hair at the back (m) gathered at the nape of the neck  into a little bag of black taffeta (n).  According to Quarré, these wigs, together with the short "bonnet" wigs, were "very much in fashion" (Art du perruquier, B).  According to the Encyclopédie, it was "the most modern" of all.

The illustration in the Encyclopédie shows the additional strap and buckle (fig 3, BB) that was  required to hold the wig in place; the bourse has a decorative rosette (Fig 9, A) and chords to fasten it (BB).

Charles-Antoine Coypel, Portrait of
 the painter's brother, 1732 (Louvre)

It seems to me that these are already quite old-fashioned versions of the bonnet and  bourse wigs.  Even the bagwig is relatively loose fitting, the curls are unstructured and the front only lightly swept back.  

The portrait left, by Coypel, painted in 1732, shows exactly this style, with a  continuous set of fluffy curls round the front of the head, a hefty bourse and a decorative black ribbon at the neck.  Interestingly, the dark-haired sitter has elected to have his hair powdered to grey rather than bright white.







Perruque nouée

This style of wig was more elaborate than the first two and required more hair. It was  finished at the back on each side with long straight hair tied into a simple knot.(ss)  The space between the two side pieces was occupied by fat corkscrew of horsehair [sometimes known as le boudin - the sausage](r) 

The section marked "P" in the first illustration is the toupet, a section of flat hair which was a characteristic feature of the perruque nouée  and perruque quarrée. The term "toupet" was also used for the central part of a short wig which swept straight back from the forehead, to end in a queue or bourse.

(Art du perruquier, C; Encyclopédie: fig. 5 and 6; fig.7 and fig. 8 are the knot and corkscrew)

 Quarré comments that the perruque nouée was very popular, even though it was highly stylised and departed from nature.



Perruque d'abbé

The typical ecclesiastical wig, round in shape and similar to the bonnet, with the addition of a tonsure(w).  Quarré noted that it required quite a different method of construction.(Art du perruquier, D, Encyclopédie: fig. 12 and 13)


.
Perruque naturelle

This style was intended to imitate long natural hair.  At the front curls framed the wearer's face as in other wigs, but at the back the hair hung lose and straight to the centre of the back. It  was either finished to a point (a)  or squared off with a "tress", that is a row of small curls (bb). [The pointed version was also termed a perruque naissante.] This was the favoured wig of the "young men of the law".
(Art du perruquier E,  Encyclopédie: fig. 12 and 13)


Perruque quarrée

These wigs were similarly in construction to the perruques nouées, with the same big central toupet of horse hair (p) finished off with a boudin. Instead of of the knots, there were layers of tight curls which fell squarely onto the shoulders (tt).  This was the preferred wig of magistrates and "serious men".
(Art du perruquier F,  Encyclopédie, fig. 4 and 5)


Perruque à la Brigadière

 The perruque à la Brigadière was constructed like the bonnet and was finished with two corkscrews of horsehair(d), drawn together and tied with a rossette of black ribbon (e).  This was a traditional military wig;  Quarré notes that it was the wig favoured by horsemen, since it "sits well".
(Art du perruquier G,  Encyclopédie: fig. 14 and 15)


Perruques à cadenettes

This wig was similar to the perruque naturelle, except that the long hair was divided on each side and confined into two braids or "cadenettes"(rr). This, writes  Quarré, was an old-fashioned style, now rarely worn.
(Art du perruquier H,  Encyclopédie: fig. 1 and 2)


Perruques à catogan [or cadogan]

This wig, with its single club knot, was based on a military hairstyle, probably named after William Cadogan,  First Earl Cadogan (1671-1726).  It is mentioned in the Art du perruquier though an illustration is not included. According to Molé, the style enjoyed a brief vogue but intense vogue around the middle of the century,  when it was often worn in a round bag known as a crapaud (ie. a"toad").

References

Art du perruquier, in the series of Descriptions des Arts et Métiers, faites ou approuvées par messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences , 1761. 
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1067624g

Article "Perruque" from the Encyclopédie 
https://artflsrv03.uchicago.edu/philologic4/encyclopedie1117/navigate/12/1632/
Exhibition of plates at MIT Libraries:
https://libraries.mit.edu/exhibits/diderots-encyclopedia-exhibit-preview/wigmaking/