One of my favorite subjects...

I decided to look through my copy of the book based on Ken Burns' "The West" last night.  Besides photos of lots of fuzzy faces, in the section on the gold rush, I came across this photo and quote, which was next to it (page 141, I think).  The photo is uncaptioned, the quote is attributed to Henry Page, 1849.

“Not one man in a hundred… ever puts a razor to his phiz. The truth is, something looks wrong to see a white shirt or a shaven face... With the help of shears to keep the road open to our mouths and a little trimming to keep our faces a little shipshape, we are at the top of fashion. Barbers are about as useful here as would be a penny whistle under the falls of Niagra.”

Now, what's a "phiz?"

One of my favorite subjects...

I decided to look through my copy of the book based on Ken Burns' "The West" last night.  Besides photos of lots of fuzzy faces, in the section on the gold rush, I came across this photo and quote, which was next to it (page 141, I think).  The photo is uncaptioned, the quote is attributed to Henry Page, 1849.

“Not one man in a hundred… ever puts a razor to his phiz. The truth is, something looks wrong to see a white shirt or a shaven face... With the help of shears to keep the road open to our mouths and a little trimming to keep our faces a little shipshape, we are at the top of fashion. Barbers are about as useful here as would be a penny whistle under the falls of Niagra.”

Now, what's a "phiz?"