O the Times! O the Manners! By William Iversen.

Another in the series, Treasures from the Basement

O the Times! O the Manners! (390 IVERSEN), by William Iversen, was first published in 1960 by William Morrow & Co and sold in hardcover for a whopping $4.00. It contains hilarious histories of some common things: money, shaves and haircuts, bathing, toasts and toasting, swearing and dancing.—subjects that are all too often left out of cultural histories.

I'm motivated to recommend this book for your reading pleasure by Iversen’s sense of humor. Take this: Iverson speaking of the Emperor Nero “who used Roman coins as though they were publicity photos. On one series we find Nero the Warrior. Another hails Nero the lyre-strumming Singer and Actor. On still another, Nero, the speed-demon Charioteer appears with his hair crimped in the style of a hot-shot circus driver” (p. 6). Funny, yes?

Or good old King Henry VIII, who issued silver-plated shillings with his face upon them. Then after the silver plate wore away from Hank’s prominent proboscis , he was called  “Old Coppernose” by the common folk.

And here’s another notable note from antiquity: in Rome, during the Roman Empire, “since prostitutes were required to wear yellow hair by law, it soon became evident that many men preferred blonds, and amorously inclined amateurs began to advertise their lusty proclivities by flaunting golden locks” (p. 38). Need I say more? Iversen has exposed the very genesis of “gentlemen prefer blonds.”

Just wait to you read the chapter on swearing….

Lots of arcane information to share with your friends or to stump your not-so-close-neighbors and relations. For trivia, for laughs, for peeks into seldom revealed aspects of history, request or ask at the Ukiah circulation desk for O the Times! O the Manners!—we’ll be glad to run downstairs and get it for you.

Anne Shirako, Reference Librarian, Ukiah Library