Early BSA air rifle / army shooting real photo postcard

[Binners]

Great find, Ed! Interesting, the suggestion that the smartly-dressed gent on the right is GLJ himself. The only pic I can find of him is from John Knibbs' book.

I've Photoshopped the two side by side and Ed's pic could certainly show an older GLJ - perhaps 15 or 20 years older.

Pic HERE.

See what I mean about the 'Freddie Fudgepacker' snoshes

[edbear2]

See what I mean about the 'Freddie Fudgepacker' snoshes

Notwithstanding the trends in San Francisco / New York Village in the 70's and later, and the front man (now expired) who sported this style, at the time of the photo it was a bit different;

"However, the moustache was, in this socially-conscious society, the prerogative of the gentleman. Menservants were required to be clean-shaven, and in contrast to the ornate beards and moustaches worn by the officers of the day, which complemented their rank and age, subalterns and lesser ranks made do with much simpler styles."

"For an officer to shave his moustache would be treated like a breach of discipline and in the gentlemen’s clubs of St James’s, to appear with a naked upper lip was as unacceptable as forgetting to put on your trousers! The moustache also had its attractions for ladies. In the 1880s, Rudyard Kipling wrote of a woman who complained that being kissed by a man who did not wax his moustache was like eating an egg without salt. But a few men skirted this unspoken social edict, whether out of a preference for a clean-shaven face or an inability to grow the coveted thick, luxurious whiskers–as was the case of Winston Churchill, who gave up his struggle to grow one while Second Lieutenant in the Queen’s Own Hussars"

If you get access to a time machine Pete, best maybe not try to explain "fudgepacker" to these guys