File:1824-smoking-Heath-caricature.jpg

"Corinthian Steamers, or Costumes and Customs of 1824", a Feb. 26 1824 caricature by W. Heath, showing a dandy's moustache catching on fire, and another dandy behaving in shocking violation of etiquette.

This shows the very beginnings of the transition from Regency to Victorian attitudes with respect to facial hair and smoking (both of which were considered outlandish and un-English during the Regency, and are ridiculed here, but later would come to be considered highly respectable during the Victorian period). Male facial hair was not yet considered fully respectable, and moustaches were associated with foreign (continental European) and military influences at the time, and so had a secondary association with conspicuous dandyism (Corinthian was another word for "dandy"). At the right of the image, a dandy is blowing smoke in a lady's face, in flagrant violation of the etiquette of the time (in which smoking was mostly not done indoors at all, and never done in the presence of ladies).

Text in image:

Flaming dandy (2nd from left)

"Fire! Fire! oh Dear, my best Mustacios will be quite Destroyd!"

Alarmed dandy (next to left)

"Fire! Fire!"

Fireman (at left)

"My Master, I must fetch our Engine to put out your Steam Engine"

Caption on cloud at center-right

"Fond of Steaming Ladies! do you smoke it, eh!"