04/12/2026
Hair today, gone tomorrow. The fellow on the 1947 Hungarian 5 Forint below is Lajos Kossuth, and in his mind a squirrel tail beard below the jaw line looks dashing. Or maybe he was trying to cover a double chin? I look at this portrait and think, “Sir, that is absolutely a comb-forward.” It is, but that's the style of the time and not his response to male pattern balding. Take a look at his Daguerreotype portrait from May 1852. I think you'll agree.
You can explore dozens more portraits in the Imperial Curls and Comb-overs gallery on my website, where rulers, philosophers, generals, and monarchs showcase the full spectrum of hairstyles depicted in metal across the centuries. See the link in my Bio.