“They had won the impression that they had grown too attached to old traditions. It was time to modernize: flowing full beards. A short time later they were erecting palisades, populating untrodden lands and barricading themselves behind their facial decoration. Evolution played its part and a long, carefree period came to pass.
This idiosyncratic people was not discovered again until the era of European expansion. The full beard was perceived as an alluring raw material and with its exploitation the bearded man was increasingly encroached upon. Later he assimilated again, primarily in Switzerland.
This book is a testimony to the uniqueness of this people. Discovered photographs document their existence. The book spans a period from 1880 to 1980, ending with the last known photograph of this breed of humans.” (Marc Elsener)
the beard, of a much darker hue,
fell in a great tangled mass
and lay along the ground at his feet
Ambrose Bierce
