It is probably the most famous face, and certainly the most famous beard, in the history of the world. There are more portraits of it in existence than of any other face. Indeed, they outnumber the entire population of flesh-and-blood human beings who have ever lived on the planet. You probably have several jingling in your pocket right now, and maybe another couple folded in your wallet. Millions of years from now – who knows? – they may still be trapped under car seats and sofa cushions, long after our species has gone extinct.
We’ve seen its features so many times – on pennies, five-dollar bills and ads for Presidents’ Day sales – that they’ve become almost invisible. It’s hard to believe that there was a moment when it came into being, a moment when Abraham Lincoln’s face as we know it was invented. Yet there was such a moment, and one might say that it occurred on a Sunday in Chicago, 150 years ago today. That’s when a photographer named Samuel G. Alschuler opened the shutter of his camera for several seconds and captured the first image of the president-elect with his newly grown beard.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Lincoln: A Beard Is Born - NYTimes.com
Author: ADAM GOODHEART
