Many, if not most men, didn't shave at all back then.
Many, if not most men, didn't shave at all back then.
Many, if not most men, didn't shave at all back then.
George Washington looks BBS in every image of him I have seen.
Most paintings I've seen from the Eighteenth Century make it seem that being clean shaven was the norm. Here is a quotation from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
"Human felicity is produc'd not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day Thus if you teach a poor young man to shave himself and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas. The money may be soon spent, the regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it, but in the other case he escapes the frequent vexation of waiting for barbers and of their sometimes dirty fingers, offensive breaths and dull razors, he shaves when most convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its being done with a good instrument."
Which is off the original topic, I know. I wonder not just about the Eighteenth Century, but other earlier periods when shaving was common. Does anyone know of any books on this?