But why did he choose that particular look? As you may know, he grew the beard in response to a letter written by 11-year-old Grace Bedell who thought that it would help him win votes. Lincoln had a wide range of beards to choose from. I've taken small illustrations from a turn-of-the-century barber's manual and imagined what Abe would have looked like if he had gone with a different style of facial hair. Mouse over the kinds of beards to see how it would have looked on Abe's face.

Anchor

Franz-Joseph

Balbo

Why did he choose a beard without a mustache? I haven't researched my answer. It's just my guess. But having drawn mustaches on Lincoln's face (I love my job!), I think he shaved it off because it made his lopsided face more obvious. I read recently that a doctor thinks Lincoln might have had a condition which caused one side of his face to be smaller than the other. A mustache -- being like a straight line across the upper lip -- makes this crookedness more visible. (The best example above is the "anchor" mustache.)

That's just my opinion. What do you think? Isn't it interesting how each beard seems to give Lincoln a different personality? Which one would you most feel comfortable voting for?

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