Facial Hair Friday: The Curiously Facial Hairless Members of Lincoln’s Cabinet

Today's post comes from Nikita Buley, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. In the late 1700s, as Americans fought for their independence, most men were clean-shaven. As we moved into the 1800s, however, facial hair—elaborate facial hair, at that—came back into style. Despite this shift, many men remained clean-shaven. A … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: The Curiously Facial Hairless Members of Lincoln’s Cabinet

Facial Hair Friday: The Death Mask of Walter Q. Gresham

Today's featured facial hair is especially appropriate for the approaching Halloween weekend. It's the plaster cast of a beard, taken of the deceased Walter Q. Gresham, who was Secretary of State at the time of his death in May of 1895. This  death mask—complete with a few beard hairs stuck in it—may seem like an oddity … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: The Death Mask of Walter Q. Gresham