Anybody know this face?

July 30, 2008 12:25 PM

Anybody know who this is?

I'm wondering if this face rings any bells for anyone--is he a person of historical significance, etc. I recognize the personage but I can't think of where from.

posted by prior to grab bag (28 comments total)

People it's not, who I thought it might be:

Any of the more recent Tsars
Stalin
Trotsky

I'm pretty sure it's someone Russian, though...
posted by Tomorrowful at 12:35 PM on July 30, 2008

I'm pretty sure it's an old postage stamp that somebody has put into a locket, so that would suggest that this guy was considered important by his government. Just from the general look I'd guess that the stamp is from ~1890 - 1920, and Eastern Europe or South America. Maybe that could narrow it down for you?
posted by Quietgal at 12:47 PM on July 30, 2008

Or it might be from some paper currency
posted by suelange at 1:15 PM on July 30, 2008

He looks like one of the Tsars for sure. That's almost certainly a military uniform he's wearing, and yeah, looks like it came from a postage stamp or currency.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 1:22 PM on July 30, 2008

The person's collar indicates that he is an army officer or ruler in a European state. The large mustache indicates a pre-1920 date. His youth would indicate he is a noble if he is on a postage stamp.

I suspect it is a Russian Grand Duke of the Romanov line, pre-1917.

Candidates would include, but not be limited to.

Grand Duke Paul

Grand Duke Alexei
posted by Ironmouth at 1:26 PM on July 30, 2008

Definitely not Grand Duke Paul - our man's got a cleft chin. I don't think it's Alexei, if only because I don't see that photo coming up in image searches - and I'm reasonably certain that photo's one of the 'iconic' ones of whoever he is.
posted by Tomorrowful at 1:29 PM on July 30, 2008

It looks an awful lot like an October Revolution-era Stalin to me.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 1:53 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

He looks like a Hapsburg. Which one, I'm not sure because they're more often depicted when they're older and ascended to the throne. But I suspect that it's one of the Emperors of Austria-Hungary (probably before ascention) or relative.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:54 PM on July 30, 2008

Actually, although it does like a bit like Stalin, something of the style of the hair and mustache now make me think it's of an earlier era.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 1:57 PM on July 30, 2008

I'm thinking a young Franz Ferdinand. The moustache, cleft, and heavy brow are all there.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 1:58 PM on July 30, 2008

It looks an awful lot like an October Revolution-era Stalin to me.

It does a bit-- full mustache and the youthful Stalin hair part. However, he's thinner than Stalin and the eyes are too round. Also, the collar suggests some fanciful military dress-- which Joey Bananas wouldn't have been wearing pre-revolution and it doesn't look like Soviet military dress anyway.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:58 PM on July 30, 2008

Agreeing with Honeydew on possible Franz Ferdinand. In any case, the hairstyle looks like 1830-1860. Before and after, they tended to plaster it down more.
posted by notquitemaryann at 2:09 PM on July 30, 2008

It doesn't look like Franz Ferdinand at all to me, and I've seen plenty of photos and depictions of the guy - who was killed about a half kilometer from my home! And, having just searched a lot of stamps from Germany, Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and other places, I'm very doubtful this is a stamp. My "evidence" of this is in the superior printing quality, the (rare) choice of black as the printing color, the high-definition and, most of all, its large size when obviously it would have to have been bigger that this picture to include the value of the stamp, country name and so on - compare it to the American stamp behind it.

The mustache could be Austrian or Romanian or Russian pretty easily. It doesn't seem to be in the unique style of the Hungarians or Germans - though of course, one would only need one exception to this generalization to be wrong.

I'm still looking.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:16 PM on July 30, 2008

Here is another shot of the Archduke, albeit quite older. At that same angle, they look damn similar.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 2:19 PM on July 30, 2008

Here is another shot.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 2:21 PM on July 30, 2008

If anyone has an eBay account, they can contact the artist who made that locket (eBay page and vendor).
posted by CancerMan at 2:23 PM on July 30, 2008

King Ludwig II of Bavaria?
posted by solipsophistocracy at 2:24 PM on July 30, 2008

Can't say who he resembles, but couldn't the image have been an engraving in a book or newspaper rather than a stamp or paper currency? (Expensive book more likely than sloppy magazine, but still) I'm curious why so many think it's of a stampy persuasion.

Btw, is that a Swedish letter behind it? The one with "Lilla" on it? (means "small")
posted by monocultured at 2:29 PM on July 30, 2008

No, it's got a US Postal Service stamp on it, I think. Must just be someone's name.
posted by athenian at 3:36 PM on July 30, 2008

It's Lermontov. I think.
posted by TheRaven at 4:02 PM on July 30, 2008

Sure looks like Borat to me.
posted by charlesv at 5:09 PM on July 30, 2008

Monocultured, I know several Etsy sellers who make jewelry out of old postage stamps. Old (non-rare) stamps are generally a lot cheaper than old banknotes and easier to get hold of in bulk, and they often feature surprisingly fine engraving. Also, the paper was often very good quality, unlike that of magazines, which were usually printed on cheap paper that deteriorates badly.
posted by Quietgal at 6:48 PM on July 30, 2008

The ears, Watson! Look at those ears!
posted by exphysicist345 at 7:13 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Maybe someone from this thread?
posted by invisible ink at 7:21 PM on July 30, 2008

The ears, Watson! Look at those ears!

And the eyes, nose and especially the hairline. It's circumstantial, obviously, but you've made an excellent case for it being a young Franz Ferdinand.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:32 PM on July 30, 2008

John Wilkes Booth was the first thing to come to mind.
posted by hootch at 8:52 PM on July 30, 2008

He does look a lot like older Stalin, but not like photos of younger Stalin (who was actually pretty good-looking).
posted by amro at 9:19 AM on July 31, 2008

Here's a young Franz Ferdinand. I don't think it's a match.
posted by amro at 9:26 AM on July 31, 2008