Wigs became fashionable among the upper class after Louis XIV of France and his cousin, Charles II of England both started wearing them in the 17th century. They evolved as status symbols for professionals, the aristocracy, and the wealthy. Eventually, a color code evolved identifying the status of the wearer evolved. The purging of the privileged classes during the French Revolution reversed the trend and the Hair Powder Act of 1795 essentially curbed their use. This is a forged iron curling iron for those wigs. See Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, Neumann p.274 #1b for an identical example. It was heated over a fire and applied to the wig while winding the hair around it. We found later variations but none as early as this and the Neumann example.
