July 21, 2015

The respectable Victorian gentleman

By C.E. Ryan
Victorian gentleman with cane, top hat and mustache. Cabinet card. Private Collection.

Victorian gentleman with cane, top hat and mustache. Cabinet card. Private Collection.

No, you are not dreaming. I’m usually not a fan of facial hair but this portrait is so much what a mature Victorian gentleman should look like I just had to get it. Under the mustache this man was a handsome fella.

He looks noble with his gaze going up. Fascinating how facial hair can change one’s appearance. This gent was in his thirties at most but the mustache makes him look older. But yes, I love this one very much.

See, he looks younger now.

See, he looks younger now.

“The moustaches are glorious, glorious. I have cut them short, and trimmed them a little at the ends to improve their shape. They are charming, charming. Without them, life would be a blank.” Edgar Allan Poe

I took this quote from a great BBC article explaining the reasons why Victorian men wore beards and mustaches. A fun good read. Thank you, Mr. Gillette, I’ll never see one of your disposable razors the same way again.

The back of this cabinet card is blank.

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