When Mustaches Ruled the Earth

Droopy and bushy were the words of the day in the early 1900s.

Back in the early 1900s, it seems that a man wasn’t a man without a large clump of hair on his upper lip. Here are a few examples from my glass negative collection.

This man was named Ulysses.

I particularly like his well-coiffed hair. Notice the rings and the cigar.

Below, we have a gentleman named W.D. Richardson. A less bushy mustache but a bit of a combover.

Here are a pair of ‘staches on the steps. This one’s titled Johnson and J.

The final one is Mr. Johnson alone.

Mr. Johnson intrigues me. He resembles Ulysses, the man in the first photo. Could they be the same person? I can’t quite tell. What do you think?