Here's what Charles Dickens looked like without a beard

Chances are that if you have a mental picture of Charles Dickens, it includes a full “door-knocker” beard.

Before those days, though, the author of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol experimented with just a mustache.

A daguerreotype profile portrait of Dickens from that era has recently made its public debut (or, at least, its first appearance in quite some time).

The Guardian reports that a private collector donated the picture to the Charles Dickens Museum in London, which will display it through March 31.

The museum's curator told the paper that very few photos of Dickens pre-beard exist, so if you aren't able to admire it in person, be sure to check out Dickens with his mustache in the Guardian.

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