Mustaches We Have Seen and Loved (or not, as the case may be). Or - everything you might have always wanted to know about mustaches, but were afraid to ask. ~ PirateDay

by Travis Louie

Recently ran across a delightful post on 19th century mustaches which appeared online a couple of years ago and still has the power to make me shake my head and laugh outright. Here's the link.

(The name of the blog is: Mustaches of the 19th Century - Your One Stop Blog Spot for Your 19th Century Mustache Needs.)

I'm telling you, you can find just about ANYTHING on online - even when you're not looking. In fact, I forgot what I was originally looking for after I spotted this post. Isn't that always the way?

Then, of course, I immediately ran into another wonderful mustache post over at Grand Old Movies: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; or, Movie Mustache Musings.

Anyway, these posts reminded me that I haven't written about one of my favorite manly accoutrement in quite a while - well, ever since my infamous Ode to A Pencil Thin Mustache.

Time for another - don't you think? Ready to talk facial hair?

******************************

The truth is, there's very little I could say about mustaches that the extraordinary artist Travis Louie doesn't already know and understand, so I'm going to let his paintings enlighten us. The language of the mustache is writ clear in this incredible phantasmagoria of facial hair.

Louie has the gift of making the fantastic look a bit 'matter of fact' - it's as if the Victorian era had suddenly revealed a secret stash of portraits - characters who'd actually lived but remained hidden from view until Travis Louie set them free.

Take a look, see what you think: