Naudet. Gervais. 40 ans, né à Echaleau (Côte-d'Or). Menuisier. Anarchiste. 10/3/94. 1894

This albumen print, made in France by Alphonse Bertillon around 1894, captures Gervais Naudet, a forty-year-old anarchist. Bertillon’s mugshots weren’t simply portraits; they were tools of surveillance, freezing individuals within a system of control. Consider Naudet's robust mustache, it is a symbol of virility and defiance. The mustache— a declaration of selfhood— echoes the beards of philosophers and revolutionaries throughout history, from Socrates to Nietzsche, each challenging the status quo. What is it about facial hair that embodies such potent symbolism? Perhaps it stems from a primal assertion of identity, a visible sign of resistance against the anonymity of modern life. As you gaze at this image, reflect on the power of symbols, how they evolve, and how they connect us across time and space. They reveal the cyclical dance of history, where echoes of the past reverberate in the present.