Cornelius Vanderbilt (left) and Lobo the Gorilla.
The Sepia Saturday theme for this week is facial hair. I’ve always been fascinated by the 19th century extravagant sideburns (named after American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside). I think it’s a pity they went out of style. Luckily gorillas still think they are fashionable. Even the females appreciate them! Shown here is Lobo, a female gorilla residing in the Apenheul Primate Park.
A prime example of sideburn lovers are the Vanderbilt family. During the Gilded Age they were one the richest families on Earth. Their fortune was founded by Cornelius, who at the age of 16 started a ferry service between Staten Island and Manhattan.
William H. Vanderbilt (Harper's weekly, December 1885).
His son William Henry Vanderbilt, frequently called a blatherskite by his father, managed to double the fortune, making him the richest man in the world (peak wealth: $231.6 billion).
next episode: William Munro
Blatherskite -- what a great word! William's sideburns are too scary for me.
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing resemblance between Cornelius and the gorilla.Blatherskite is a great word--I never heard it before.
ReplyDeleteThe side by side comparison pictures are so funny. Great job. Thanks for the bit of history lesson on the V.'s; I didn't know any of that ... and a billion was a lot back then.
ReplyDeleteKathy M.
Brilliant juxtapositioning!
ReplyDeleteRob you are tricky!
ReplyDeleteHa. I wonder what Vanderbilt would think if he could see himself beside the Gorilla. Did he have a sense of humor or would he be ape-palled.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Beard fashion then, ridicolous today! I like Nancy's word "ape-palled" that's brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI had a guy in my drawing class who had extravagant sideburns but nothing like these!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the best laugh I've had all day! Enjoyed the pictures - those long sideburns were most unattractive. It's also interesting to learn how the term "sideburn" came to be.
ReplyDeleteThat’s so clever to post those pictures side by side Rob. Those whiskers suit the gorilla better than the human!
ReplyDeleteYes, a bit too much for my liking. I still see that look today in places too.
ReplyDeleteThe photos of Cornelius and Lobo made me laugh out loud!!
ReplyDeleteSpectacular sideburns, and a spot-on match with the gorilla :-)
ReplyDeleteGuess humans and gorillas haven't changed that much from our common ancestor Rob
ReplyDeleteCertainly a great and funny spin on the theme!!
ReplyDelete:)~
HUGZ
Oh, I'm flashing back on the '70s when sideburns were again popular. I really hated them. I knew the trend was on its way out when my father started growing his.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha! I really like the fact that you made the connection between the Vanderbilt photo and the gorilla one and shared them both with us. What a good laugh!
ReplyDeleteInteresting origin of the name, and explains why the UK didn't use use the term at the time, it seems they were considered face furniture and called sideboards. After reading B&N's comment I had a look again at Cornelius and noticed he had laughter line on his eyes, although I don't know about Lobo.
ReplyDelete