“They had gained the impression of clinging too much to age-old traditions. A modernization was needed: flowing full beards. Soon afterward they erected palisades, populated untouched lands and entrenched themselves behind their facial adornment. Evolution did its part, and a long, carefree time passed. Only in the age of European expansion was this peculiar people finally rediscovered, the full beards perceived as a tempting raw material, and the beard-wearer increasingly abused in their extraction and later largely re-assimilated, mainly in Switzerland. This book is a testimony to their uniqueness, documenting their existence through found photographs. It spans the period from 1880 to 1980 and ends with the last known picture of this human strain.” (Marc Elsener)