HANDSOME BEARDED MAN IN PORTLAND, OREGON

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The subject of this portrait is quite the handsome gentleman and  has a wonderful beard. To view more interesting beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best). The reverse of the photograph has a printed stamp indicating that the photographer of this image was located in Portland, Oregon. In addition, the back of the cabinet card shows a medal for photography from the Oregon State Agricultural Society which was issued in 1881. Born in Illinois in 1844, Frank G. Abell moved to California with his parents in 1857. In 1862, at the age of 18, he joined the firm of William Shew in San Francisco, where he spend four years learning the art and business of photography. He opened his own gallery, Abell’s Star Gallery, in Stockton, California in 1866. The next year he moved back to San Franisco and then worked in such towns as Grass Valley, Red Bluff and Yreka. In 1877 he pursued his craft in Roseburg, Oregon and from 1878 to 1888 he was based in Portland. He must have left his heart in San Francisco because he returned there once again. His indecisiveness was evident when he returned to Portland where he worked between 1897 and 1907. When his health failed, he moved to Tacoma, Washington where he died in 1910.

Published in: on June 20, 2014 at 11:32 pm  Comments (1)  
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A MAN, HIS CIGAR, AND HIS DOG IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

CHICAGO DOG_0001A well dressed man wearing a derby hat poses with his dog at the Chicago photography studio of Wagner & Nickel. The gentleman looks quite content sitting beside his “best friend” and enjoying his cigar. His canine companion appears to be a young Golden Retriever. The subject has a thick beard without sideburns.

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Published in: on January 17, 2014 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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MAN WITH INTERESTING BEARD POSES WITH IS WIFE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

COUPLE BEARD_0003J. B. Scholl, who operated a studio in Chicago, produced this cabinet card portrait of this lovely couple. To view other photographs by Scholl, and to learn more about him, click on the cabinet card gallery category “Photographer: Scholl (J B)”.  The gentleman in the photograph combs his beard to the sides; a most unusual strategy.

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Published in: on December 13, 2013 at 2:13 pm  Comments (1)  
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DESK JOCKEY CONDUCTS BUSINESS IN POSEN, PRUSSIA

DESK JOCKEY A handsome well dressed gentleman sits at his desk and poses for this portrait by the Engelmann studio in Posen, Poland. At the time of this photograph, Posen was a province of Prussia and part of the German Empire. The man in this photograph appears to be a professional of some type. Perhaps he was an attorney or politician. He is leafing through some papers and looking at the camera. Note the large books (journals?) and the inkwell on his desk. He is wearing a wedding ring and a bow tie.  (SOLD)

Published in: on November 5, 2013 at 12:10 pm  Comments (1)  
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A MAN AND HIS CHOPS IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

SIDEBURNS BALTIMORE_0001Meet Philip August Albrecht. His name is written in pencil on the reverse of this photograph. Mr Albrecht has chops. This image may be faded but it certainly does justice to his mutton chops. See more great facial hair in the categories “Beards (Only the Best)” and “Mustaches (Only the Best)”. Philip Albrecht appears in the 1870 US census. The document reveals that he was born in Prussia around 1843. He was employed as a bookkeeper and married to Anna Albrecht. The couple had two children, Emma (age 3) and John (age 10 months). Baltimore City Directories disclose that Philip Albrecht worked as a bookkeeper between at least 1868 and 1882. He worked as a cashier at least between 1888 and 1898. Albrecht died in 1909. This photograph was produced by William Foss Shorey (1833-1911) whose studio was located in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a well known photographer in Baltimore and operated there for more than forty years. He was born in Maine and the son of a furrier (Nehemiah Shorey). William graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art and Design and became a drawing instructor there at twenty-five years of age. He learned photography under the tutelage of H. E. Woodward who was associated with the Institute but also owned the Monumental Art Studio. Shorey’s obituary states that he was the official photographer of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody for the first ten years of his show business career. It was also reported that Shorey was the official photographer of the Maryland Department of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Published in: on October 25, 2013 at 12:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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FIFTY SHADES OF GREY IN RED BLUFF, CALIFORNIA

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An unidentified old man with a great beard poses for his portrait at the H. Weston studio in Red Bluff, California. Fifty shades of grey is the best way to describe the color of his hair and beard. To view other all-star beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”. Henry Weston (1840-1911) was born in Massachusetts. He was listed in the 1885 business directory as a photographer in the Tehama County directory. He is also listed in the 1900 US census as a photographer living in Amador, California. Red Bluff is a town about 125 miles north of Sacramento. The town overlooks the Sacramento River and is in Tehama County.

Published in: on September 6, 2013 at 7:41 pm  Comments (1)  
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OLDER GENTLEMAN WITH LONG WHITE BEARD IN PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND

RI BEARD_0004The Salisbury studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island produced this cabinet card portrait of an elderly man with a long white beard. His beard is very impressive but one wonders how he ate without wearing his food. To view other interesting beards click on the category “Beards (Only The Best)”. The photographer was Arnold F. Salisbury. His name can be found in many Pawtucket city directories of the 1880’s. At one time his studio was located at 65 Mill Street. He is considered by “Classy Arts” photo history site as one of America’s most productive photographers during the Carte De  Visite era (he  is among over 200 photographers so designated). Salisbury’s obituary appears in the Bulletin of Photography (1918). In the brief article it is mentioned that Salisbury was a civil war veteran. Further research revealed that he was a private in the 1st Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (company E) for three months in 1861. He later served as a second sergeant in the 9th Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (Company A) and as a first lieutenant in the 12th Regiment Rhode Island Infantry (Company H).

Published in: on July 17, 2013 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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UGLIEST BEARD IN AMERICA DISCOVERED IN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS

UGLY BEARD_0003The gentleman pictured in this cabinet card photograph was clearly experiencing “a bad beard day”. The previous owner of this photograph stated that “this is what happens when you shave with a hangover”. This scraggly bearded man seems to have chopped the left side of his beard shorter than the right side. The beard seems to have been styled to look like a muskrat. The photographer of this image is C. H. Hanchett of Arlington Heights, Illinois. He also had studios in Richmond and Wauconda, Illinois. The Arlington Heights studio was at Dunton Avenue and Miner Street. To view other interesting beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”. If there was a category “Beards (Only the Worst)”, I would have placed it there.

Published in: on June 19, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (2)  
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MAN WITH NOTABLE BEARD IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

BOWMAN_0001This photograph merits inclusion in the cabinet card gallery on the basis of the subjects stylish beard. He is quite clean cut except in the very center of his face. This beard also is a “mouth hider”. Mealtime must be quite a messy affair for this gentleman. To view other photographs of men with interesting beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best).  The photographer of this image is F. A. Bowman of New Haven, Connecticut. Frank Augustus Bowman (1847-1911) is included on a list compiled of the two hundred plus most prolific  photographers of the Carte de Visite era. His name appears as a photographer in New Haven’s  business directories between 1869 and 1900. The 1880 US census reported that Bowman (age 33) lived in New Haven with his wife Mary Fowler Bowman (age 32), his daughter Bessie (age 2), and a servant. The family also had a boarder, Jennie Ferris (age 27) who worked with Bowman in his studio.

Published in: on January 15, 2013 at 10:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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TOOTHLESS OLD MAN WITH ODD BEARD IN HOWELL, MICHIGAN

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An elderly man poses for his portrait at the Gibson & Morgan studio in Howell, Michigan. The gray haired  gentleman appears to be missing his teeth and is wearing an unusual beard that occupies much of his neck and little of his face. To view other interesting beards, click on the category “Beards (Only the Best)”.

Published in: on December 25, 2012 at 12:24 pm  Comments (4)  
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