From the annals of facial hair

Chester A. Arthur portrait by Ole Peter Hansen Balling

On this week commemorating the the 186th birthday of Chester A. Arthur -- Washington County native, Union College grad, 21st President of the United States, current resident of the Albany Rural Cemetery -- let us take a moment to admire Mr. Arthur's facial hair in this 1881 portrait, a work by Ole Peter Hansen Balling that is part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

From the accompanying description:

This head-and-shoulders portrait can only hint at the fashionable figure that Arthur cut. With his muttonchop whiskers "trimmed to the perfection point" and his suits made of only the finest fabrics, he invariably looked like the very epitome of the well-bred Victorian gentleman.

By the way: You can search the portrait gallery's collection by facial hair. Really. See: muttonchops.

portrait image via Wikipedia

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For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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