There are antique portraits where you notice the clothing.
There are portraits where you notice the eyes.
And then there is this man, who spent a considerable amount of time growing whatever is happening on his face and deserves to have it acknowledged.
This antique carte de visite, or CDV, features an unidentified young gentleman with curly hair, a substantial mustache, and glorious mutton-chop sideburns that travel down his face before apparently deciding the chin was none of their business.
I don't know his name. I don't know what he did for a living. I don't know whether this facial hair was considered wildly attractive at the time or whether his mother was also asking when he planned to shave it off.
What I do know is that he showed up to the photographer looking like this on purpose.
The portrait itself has that wonderful faded, slightly ghostly quality I love in old photographs, mounted on a card with clipped corners and a gold-toned edge.
I have not done a psychic reading on him, so whatever story he carried into that photography studio is still waiting to be discovered.
Use him in a Victorian gallery wall, cabinet of curiosities, ancestor-style altar, antique photograph collection, or for psychometry, intuitive work and divination.
Or adopt him simply because every house needs at least one mysterious Victorian man with unreasonable facial hair.
Condition
Authentic antique condition with fading, toning, spotting and general age-related wear. The mount has clipped corners and gold-toned edging. Please review photos closely for exact condition.
