When did Nicholas start his beard?

[Rodney_G.]

This question has been touched upon, but without a definitive answer. The last photo I have of him beardless is from Japan, April, 1891. (sorry, haven't the photo here). Three years later, there are many photos of him with his beard. Does anyone have a photo of, or know of him  with a beard earlier than that?

[Jen_94]

I assume 1891/1892.

http://www.bridgemanart.com/asset/368912/Russian-Photographer-19th-century/Nicholas-II-as-Tsarevich-c.1892-bw-photo?search_context=%7B%22url%22%3A%22%5C%2Fsearch%5C%2Fartist%5C%2FRussian-Photographer-19th-century%5C%2F24384%22%2C%22num_results%22%3A%2293%22%2C%22search_type%22%3A%22creator_assets%22%2C%22creator_id%22%3A%2224384%22%2C%22item_index%22%3A35%7D

This photo is c.1892 I think!

[Rodney_G.]

I assume 1891/1892.

http://www.bridgemanart.com/asset/368912/Russian-Photographer-19th-century/Nicholas-II-as-Tsarevich-c.1892-bw-photo?search_context=%7B%22url%22%3A%22%5C%2Fsearch%5C%2Fartist%5C%2FRussian-Photographer-19th-century%5C%2F24384%22%2C%22num_results%22%3A%2293%22%2C%22search_type%22%3A%22creator_assets%22%2C%22creator_id%22%3A%2224384%22%2C%22item_index%22%3A35%7D

This photo is c.1892 I think!

Interesting. I wonder if it had anything to do with his experience in Japan? Also almost all the grand Dukes of both his father's and his own generation  wore beards. In fact i can't think of any who were clean shaven. Hmmm.

[edubs31]

Makes sense...the beard perhaps being a sort of graduation into manhood.

GD Paul Alexandrovich didn't have one though, correct? To the best of my knowledge neither did Nicholas Alexandrovich the presumptive heir...although he was younger when he died (21.5) than Nicholas II was (23 or 24) when he would have started to grow his...

[Jen_94]

No, I am quite sure he did not have a beard from the pics I have seen of him. GD Dmitri Pavlovich didn't have one either, if I am correct?

Perhaps the beard was some sort of graduation into manhood, like edubs31 said.

[Kalafrana]

Photos of Nicholas as a young adult show him with a moustache, which I see as the graduation into manhood.

I think it was essentially a question of fashion. All the Grand Dukes younger than Nicholas had moustaches, with the exception of Dimitri Pavlovich, but not beards. Group photos of Russian officers taken from 1900-17 show the older and more senior tending to have beards or side whiskers, the younger moustaches. Some facial hair was pretty much universal, however, making Dimitri Pavlovich unusual - perhaps he was one of those who couldn't grow a decent moustache!

More generally, some facial hair was the norm for men all over Europe until after WW1, the amount gradually reducing to a modest-sized moustache. I have seen it suggested that one reason for all the strange side whiskers of the 19th century was the dangers of the cut-throat razor, and that they largely disappeared with the advent of the safety razor!

I can't claim to be an expert on the subject, but the men I have consulted for research purposes (plus observations of the bum fluff among my students) for my novel tell me that it is rare to be able to grow a respectable beard or moustache until well past 20. My chap (dark-haired) says he didn't manage it until he was about 24.

Ann

[Rodney_G.]

Dmitry Pavlovich and GD Paul Alexandrovich seem to be the exception. You look at those photos from late 19th century to the Revolution and it's beard city. With regard to the two named men here, and at the risk of a generalization, beards are easier to pull off for heavier, fuller-faced guys. I've had a mustache since age 25 and I have a lean face  and it works. Not so a beard.

Nicholas' beard suited him, though he looked good with just the 'stach too. His beard also was thicker and fuller as he aged . In some photos around the time of Olga's birth it looked pretty thin.

[Forum Admin]

I recall that Nicholas started the beard to hide a facial scar from the Otsu murder attempt in Japan.  I can't recall where I read that just now however.

[Rodney_G.]

I recall that Nicholas started the beard to hide a facial scar from the Otsu murder attempt in Japan.  I can't recall where I read that just now however.

Makes total sense. If there were photos of Nicholas the Heir with a facial cut (immediately after the attack), or with a subsequent scar, I can see why both his parents and those  Imperial officials concerned about Nicholas' appearance and public image as a strong future Emperor would not want them made public.

[Jen_94]

I recall that Nicholas started the beard to hide a facial scar from the Otsu murder attempt in Japan.  I can't recall where I read that just now however.

Ah, interesting! Thanks for that! Does make sense indeed.

[Kalafrana]

My understanding is that the scar from Otsu was across Nicholas's forehead. Was there more than one!

Nicholas was born in 1868, so on the cusp between the fashion for beards and the fashion for moustaches. As already mentioned, his uncle Paul Alexandrovich (b.1860) had a moustache, as did his contemporaries Vassili Dolgoruky (b.1868) and Gustav Mannerheim (b.1867).

My paternal grandfather, born in 1878, is a nice example of the fashion for moustaches among military men. The earliest picture we have of him, as a young recruit in the Royal Engineers about 1899, shows a very new moustache. Ten years later, as a Sergeant, it has grown into a formidable affair with horizontal  waxed points. In 1917 and later, the dimensions stayed the same but the waxed points disappeared.

Ann

[Rodney_G.]

You won't have seen many beards in the US army  after the 1880s, but mustaches, definitely.

My understanding is that the scar from Otsu was across Nicholas's forehead. Was there more than one!

My paternal grandfather, born in 1878, is a nice example of the fashion for moustaches among military men. The earliest picture we have of him, as a young recruit in the Royal Engineers about 1899, shows a very new moustache. Ten years later, as a Sergeant, it has grown into a formidable affair with horizontal  waxed points. In 1917 and later, the dimensions stayed the same but the waxed points disappeared.

Ann

That's neat. My paternal grandfather was born in Berlin a year before yours. He would know about mustaches, having seen future German Emperor Wilhelm II on parade in Spandau with his extravagantly waxed points in the early 1880s. As an immigrant to the USA, he settled for a modest narrow mustache as a US army volunteer in the Spanish-American War.


As for any facial scar of Nicholas, FA recalls reading about it, but confirmation is lacking. but that a slash from a sword to the forehead might have nicked the face is not improbable.