Beards - Reginald Reynolds - 1976

"*Beards* is an entertaining treatise on the history and lore of men's principal facial adornment. It begins with the Garden of Eden, proceeds to the golden age of beards -- the Victorian era -- and moves on into our own century, when beards are having a renaissance once again. Among the countless aspects of beards investigated here are the taboos and dangers of barbering; insult and punishment through the cutting of beards; the linking of hair with sin and of beards with radical politics; the mystical significance of beards; the beard as a mask; the horrors of Sunday shaving; Abe Lincoln's beard; prayers for shaving; false beards; the legend of Bluebeard; and beards in the Second World War. Naturally, beards cannot be discussed without including the mustache, which has had its own ups and downs..." - Beards: Their Social Standing, Religious Involvements, Decorative Possibilities and Value in Offence and Defence Through the Ages - Reginald Reynolds Published 1976, Harvest /Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York Softcover. Approx. 5.5x8in. 301pp. In good vintage condition. Rear cover shows a little sun fading.