James Guilford
James Edward Guilford, Jr. was a master barber, hair stylist and entrepreneur, who started cutting hair at the age of twelve. He was a living legend in the lower Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts where he maintained an art studio, continuing his love for painting. He also played golf.
Guilford was born at home in Boston, Massachusetts on October 7, 1911. His mother, Nancy (Haskins) Guilford migrated from Lynchburg, Virginia and his father, James, from Petersburg, Virginia around 1910. He attended Boston public schools and completed his studies at the prestigious Boston Latin School in 1928. He was the only African American on the thirty-two-member track team at the Latin School in 1926. Later, he studied at Northeastern University School of Law, Wilfred’s Academy of Beauty Culture, and the Lee Institute of Real Estate. Throughout his teenage years, Guilford worked in barbershops after school and during the summers. He was the youngest of three siblings and his earnings as a junior barber helped his family through the Depression. He opened and managed his own shop - Dunbar Barbers from 1934 to 1942.
As a barber from 1923 until 1979, with three years in the military fighting in the Pacific during World War II and as the proprietor after the war of Jimmy Guilford’s Men’s Hairstyling Salon on Tremont Street, Guilford catered to all classes and especially to Boston’s black elite. His customers included Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Jackie Robinson, Oscar Peterson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jack Johnson.
From 1962 to 1963, Guilford was the President of the Associated Master Barbers of Massachusetts, which included white and black barbers. He was the first African American elected to this position.
As a professional artist, Guilford also received recognition. He exhibited widely and was a founding member and a president of the Boston Afro-American Artists, Inc. He was a member of the Piano Craft Guild Artists’ Association, where he maintained a studio. Many of his drawings, oils and watercolors are in private collections. His oil painting of Martin Luther King, Jr. hangs in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Guilford was among the leading 20th century black artists in Boston whose creative works have educated and contributed to the arts culture of the city.
Guilford was the father of three - Marcia Davenport, Jeanne Eason and James Guilford, III.
Guilford passed away on December 16, 2015.
A2006.067
Male
4/7/2006
Guilford
Boston Latin School
Lafayette Elementary School
Hyde School
Boston Central Adult High School
Wilfred's Academy of Hair and Beauty Culture
James
Boston
GUI04
Massachusetts

Massachusetts
10/7/1911
Boston
USA
12/16/2015
Painter and barber James Guilford (1911 - 2015 ) was the owner of Jimmy Guilford's Hairstyling Salon, which catered to Boston's black elite, entertainers and athletes such as Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Duke Ellington and Sugar Ray Robinson. Guilford was also the first African American president of the Associated Master Barbers of Massachusetts. Guilford passed away on December 16, 2015.
Dunbar Barbers
Jimmy Guilford’s Men’s Hairstyling Salon
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269044">Tape: 1 Slating of James Guilford's interview</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269045">Tape: 1 James Guilford recalls his early school experiences in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269046">Tape: 1 James Guilford describes his mother</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269047">Tape: 1 James Guilford describes his father</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269048">Tape: 1 James Guilford recalls his first experience working in a barbershop</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269049">Tape: 1 James Guilford remembers playing in Madison Park in Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269050">Tape: 1 James Guilford recalls his experience at Boston Latin School in Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269051">Tape: 1 James Guilford explains the geography of the South End and Roxbury neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269052">Tape: 2 James Guilford talks about his children</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269053">Tape: 2 James Guilford remembers his newspaper stand business</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269054">Tape: 2 James Guilford remembers becoming first chair barber at age sixteen</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269055">Tape: 2 James Guilford describes life as a barber in the early 20th century</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269056">Tape: 2 James Guilford recalls his work with the Associated Master Barbers of America</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269057">Tape: 2 James Guilford remembers his presidency of the Associated Master Barbers of Massachusetts in 1962</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269058">Tape: 2 James Guilford describes his U.S. military service in World War II</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269059">Tape: 2 James Guilford remembers George Watson, who saved his life in the Pacific Theater of World War II</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269060">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers opening Jimmy Guilford's Men's Hairstyling Salon in Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269061">Tape: 3 James Guilford recalls briefly attending a beauty college</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269062">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers Jackie Robinson</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269063">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers Jack Johnson</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269064">Tape: 3 James Guilford recalls the introduction of chemical hair relaxers</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269065">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers famous people whose hair he has cut</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269066">Tape: 3 James Guilford describes the hairstyling innovations he introduced in Boston, Massachusetts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269067">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers his first painting</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269068">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers his work with Boston Afro American Artists</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269069">Tape: 3 James Guilford remembers losing his barber shop to Boston Redevelopment Authority</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269070">Tape: 3 James Guilford explains how he has led a long and healthy life</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269071">Tape: 3 James Guilford reflects upon his life</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/269072">Tape: 3 James Guilford describes how he would like to be remembered</a>
1$1
2$2
3$6