Tag Archives: retro

retro beards

Retro beard: Professor James Sturgis Pray

2 Comments
Retro Beards poster: Professor James Sturgis Pray

A pioneer in Landscape Architecture and a beard grower: Professor James Sturgis Pray

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 26, 1871, James Sturgis Pray was raised and educated in the Boston area. His landscape architecture career was also based in the Boston area. He was a pioneering leader who helped develop the foundation for formal education programs in the field of landscape architecture and guided the profession in its early stages.

James Sturgis Pray was married in 1901 to Florence Mabel Nichols. The couple had two children: Benjamin Sturgis Pray and Frances Motley Pray.

James Sturgis Pray apparently was an avid beard grower. It’s unknown when he grew his first beard and whether he remained bearded continuously from there on out. In the handful of photos that I found of him, he always had his big walrus mustache along with some form of beard. The photo of Pray in this post shows him fully bearded, with the walrus mustache. Other photos have shown him apparently with only the mustache and a goatee. At least one photo showed him with the walrus mustache, the goatee, and with the rest of the beard and sideburns maintained as thick stubble.

Retro beard: Professor Jame Sturgis Pray, featured beard image 2
Professor James Sturgis Pray with his full beard, including his Walrus-style mustache. This portrait of Professor Pray was published in newspapers in 1916. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-ggbain-21565]. Click on image to view larger.

The photo above was published in various newspapers in 1916. That was thirteen years before his passing in 1929.

Education

Chauncy Hall School, Boston, Massachusetts

Young Pray was an outstanding and popular student.

  • 1887: Won gold medal in drill sergeants’ competition. Pray also won the Chauncy Hall Association gold medal for being voted “best boy in the school” by the other students.
  • 1888: Received captain military commission.

Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • 1891: Began his studies at Harvard.
  • 1894: Withdrew from Harvard for health reasons.
  • 1896: Returned to Harvard to resume his studies.
  • 1898: Received his A.B. degree, designated “as of 1895”.

During 1897 and 1898, while at Harvard, Pray pursued specialized studies at the Lawrence Scientific school and Bussey Institute. These studies helped to pave the way for establishing the new profession of landscape architecture.

Professional Career

Private practice

  • 1898 to 1903: Worked in landscape architecture at the firm of the renowned Olmsted Brothers.
  • 1903 to 1918: Pray had his own firm: at first solo, and later with partners.

Landscape Architecture education

Overlapping with Pray’s private practice was his growing career as an educator at Harvard. Starting in 1903 as an Assistant in Landscape Architecture, he became an Instructor in 1903, an Assistant Professor in 1905, Department Chairman in 1908, and then Chairman of the Council of the new Graduate School of Landscape Architecture. In 1915 he was appointed the Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture, a position he held until his 1929 passing. Earlier, in 1928 he resigned as the graduate school chairman for health reasons.

Professor Pray was not only a trailblazer in the creation of educational programs for the emerging field of landscape architecture, but he also taught the first course in the United States on the subject of city planning. This first course led to the development of a degree program in city planning at Harvard. Professor Pray also supported education programs for women and encouraged them to enter the field of landscape architecture.

Professional activities

Professor Pray was involved in a wide variety of activities related to landscape architecture and nature.

  • 1896: Listed as secretary of the Columbine Association which had been formed recently to campaign for the columbine to be officially adopted as the National Flower of the United States. As secretary of the Association, he was widely quoted nationwide for making the case for the columbine flower.
  • 1898: Elected as a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
  • 1899: As a member, Professor Pray attended the American Forestry Association‘s national convention in Los Angeles, California.
  • 1902: Confirmed as a councilor for the Appalachian Mountain Club.
  • 1911: Became a Trustee of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He also served as Vice President from 1913 to 1915, and President from 1915 to 1920.
  • 1913: Became the first Vice President of the new Boston Society of Landscape Architects and was President by 1914.
  • 1917: Traveled to Fort Riley, Kansas to present a preliminary overall plan for a “soldier city” to house fifty thousand soldiers.
  • 1920: Listed as a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome, Italy. He later worked to establish the first Fellowship in Landscape Architecture at the Academy.
  • 1921: Went on a tour of all national parks and national monuments for the purpose of preparing and presenting an unofficial report to Stephen Mather, Director of the National Park Service.

Legacy

Professor Pray was a true pioneer in the development of the field of landscape architecture and the educational programs to maintain and advance it. His leadership was exemplary. His influence spread far and wide. His students spread his teachings even further. They demonstrated and taught Professor Pray’s ideas by:

  • the practice of landscape architecture, implementing Pray’s teachings in completed works
  • teaching his ideas and concepts in degree programs throughout the land
  • running undergraduate schools of landscape architecture

The results of Professor Pray’s teachings can be seen through his own realized projects as well as those of his students who were taught by his students. His ideas continued to be passed on to generations of students beyond. He left behind a remarkable legacy of landscape architecture with the beauty of nature.

Colorizing beards from the past

Retro beard: Professor Jame Sturgis Pray, featured beard image 3
Professor James Sturgis Pray as he might appear in color. Click on image to view larger. Colorization: All About BEARDS.

As part of the Retro Beards project here on All About BEARDS, I am trying out colorizing antique photos that are available only in black and white. While the colors cannot be verified for accuracy, they give an idea of how the subject might look in color. Professor Pray, here, is the first example.

Retro beard: Professor Jame Sturgis Pray, featured beard images: from black and white to color
Side by side: Professor Pray in black and white versus Professor Pray in color. Click on image to view larger.

After an extended unexpected delay, Retro Beards is just now getting started. This is only the beginning. A lot more is on the way. There is a lot that we can learn from Retro Beards, our beard history.

Header photo at top of post: Professor Pray against a background photo of the remarkable Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, California. Gilroy Gardens photo: All About BEARDS.

retro beards

Going Retro: Discover Amazing RETRO Beards

8 Comments

Looking BACK. Growing FORWARD.

Awesome beards from the past can inspire present and future awesome beards. All About BEARDS is proud to announce the launch of our RETRO Beards feature! We will take an in-depth look back at all sorts of magnificent beards from the past with an emphasis on beards from the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.

The early days of widespread photography were in the nineteenth century, a century which could be considered the glory days of epic beard growing. Beards were abundant and bold. These men did not hesitate to grow massive beards and mustaches in every imaginable style, from the common classics to creative and unconventional styles.

This incredible golden age of beard growing quickly faded away after the turn of the century, especially after 1910. In our lifetimes we have not seen such prolific beard growth. But we could. And we should! Let’s do it!

Discover amazing Retro Beards at All About BEARDS, featured beard image 2
This is a preview of some of the beards you will see in RETRO Beards here on All About BEARDS. Photos: All About BEARDS collection. Click on image to view larger.

RETRO Beards on All About BEARDS will present beards from the past on a regular basis to honor them and for these beards to inspire you and others to grow your beards freely without holding back. Even if you are not ready to go all out, we still want to inspire you to grow whatever beard you are comfortable with for starters!

RETRO Beards: from well-known to unknown

RETRO Beards will include well-known bearded men from the past along with not-so-well-known men as well as unidentified men, whose stories have been lost to history. We want to showcase and honor these legendary beard growers from all walks of life whether they are famous or unknown. As more of these bygone beards are added to the site, they will be gathered into a dedicated gallery of antique beards.

RETRO Beards: a preview

To get started, let’s take a quick look at a prominent beard grower from the past.

George Foster Peabody

Discover amazing Retro Beards at All About BEARDS such as the beard of prominent banker George Foster Peabody
George Foster Peabody: investment banker and philanthropist, well-known full beard grower. Photo: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-ggbain-12567]. Click on image to view larger.

George Foster Peabody (1852-1938) was born in Columbus, Georgia USA. Impoverished by the US Civil War, Peabody’s family relocated to Brooklyn, New York by the time George was in his early teens.

George started working in Brooklyn as a young teenager. Eventually he got involved in investment banking. Peabody became a partner in a New York investment banking firm where he was known for managing the firm’s investments in railroad construction.

George also turned his attention to philanthropic support for education. He served as a board member for multiple educational institutions and as treasurer for others. He supplied funds for new buildings and educational programs at these institutions.

Peabody was awarded honorary degrees from Harvard University, Washington and Lee University, and the University of Georgia. In honor of Peabody’s service to the University of Georgia, the university’s journalism school established the prestigious Peabody Awards in his name.

All about the BEARD

Beard type: full beard including large walrus mustache
Beard characteristics:

  • the large walrus-style mustache is a prominent feature
  • the beard’s cheek line is relatively high but is not at the full natural height in this photo
  • neck line is left natural, which was a common practice in this era

Remarks: George F. Peabody’s full beard was a striking, trademark feature of his appearance. Photos show him with his beard at various ages all the way through to old age. His big full beard with natural neck line, walrus mustache, and high and sometimes natural cheek line was accepted as a professional appearance for a prominent New York investment banker and philanthropist.

About his beard’s cheek line, I’ve seen it higher in other photos. In the photo above, the cheek line has been lowered a bit and runs almost horizontally from the mustache to the sideburns. Other photos reveal the cheek line joining the mustache just a tad higher up and running from there along an upward angle to reach the sideburns.

How to grow your beard like George’s beard: Keep in mind that George was blessed with abundant beard growth. Not every beard will have the same look. That’s a reminder that every beard is unique, no two are alike. Knowing this, you can try growing your own version of George’s beard and see how it turns out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

The steps are pretty simple.

  • let all of your facial hair grow: beard and mustache
  • let both neck and cheek lines grow naturally
  • allow the beard plenty of growing time to achieve the desired volume similar to George’s beard
  • continue to allow the cheek line to grow naturally, or trim it down sparingly
  • allow the mustache to grow to “walrus” proportions as you like

Need more beard-growing info to get started? See our guide on how to grow a beard.

The power of RETRO Beards

Retro beards: Look BACK. Grow FORWARD! featured beard image
Photo: All About BEARDS collection. Click on image to view larger.

Why bother looking at beards from so long ago? There are many reasons.

  • These beards from the past can be powerful sources of inspiration for potential new beard growers to start growing beards of their own.
  • Once you see the tremendous variety of these beards from the past, you can adopt a whole new outlook on beard growing and possibilities that you wouldn’t have imagined.
  • Whether you are a new or current beard grower, you may be inspired to model your beard after one of these RETRO Beards.
  • Even if you’re not interested in duplicating the look of a specific retro beard, just seeing the variety of beard styles and features may spark new ideas to apply to your current beard style.
  • Looking back at these RETRO Beards, is a fascinating opportunity to see what kinds of amazing beards were produced during a period when seemingly men were free to grow their beards in whatever size, shape, or style that they wanted. They grew their beards without holding back!
  • Seeing these beard-growing ancestors and the beards they produced gives an opportunity to pause and contemplate what their lives may have been like in those days.

All About BEARDS invites you to stay tuned and stay with us as our parade of RETRO Beards begins.

Even with beards today enjoying much greater acceptance and prevalence, a lot of beard-growing reluctance remains. We should have a lot more beard growers! And beard growers should grow without holding back!

Let’s learn from these bearded men, beard pioneers, who grew before us. They left us a legacy of powerful beard growing. Let’s harness the power of RETRO Beards and embrace the freedom to grow our beards however we like! Look BACK. Grow FORWARD!

Post header photo credits: Background image: Canyonlands National Park, Utah by All About BEARDS. RETRO Beards portraits: All About BEARDS collection.