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Joseph'S Retreating Forehead
What a Retreating Forehead Really Looks Like


Sketch of the outline of the Dibble death mask in green, seen on our right.

Superimposed outline of the dibble death mask, superimposed onto my CDV, note- when expanded, to make up for camera distortion (image of the mask was taken too close, and I know it- cause I took it and couldn't find a ladder- bahaha), then we see the shape and outline match, nearly perfectly, the hairline is pushed forward on the left of the death mask, from injury, apparent on his forehead.
In May 1844, Josiah Quincy described Joseph Smith as having a "long nose" and a "retreating forehead", most assume that refers to his profile shape of his forehead, but when John Hammer's ancestor was quoted, by Hammer himself, in an interview with Mormon Book Reviews, "Joseph Smith Photo The Inside Story w/Lachlan MacKay", 11 minutes into it- he mentions his ancestor who went on Zion's March, knew Joseph well, not liking the popular portraits of Joseph Smith, in the 1880s and how it didn't show Josephs' what?- "retreating forehead"; being this is an off the cuff reference, lacking even the name of Hammer's ancestor, it is interesting the alleged quote- implies that the "retreating forehead" is NOT apparent in the Elvis look-alike portrait, pro-bouffant Joseph's use to "prove" my image shows a man with too receded of a hairline, and we know the Maudsley's profile of Joseph was nearly perfect, in regards to the death mask, so Hammer's ancestor wasn't critiquing Maudsley, Curtis proved that was a near perfect match, in his 2009 study, "Skulls and Crossed Bones?: A Forensic Study of the Remains of Hyrum and Joseph Smith", no- it was the photos taken by Carter which were super popular, that Hammer's ancestor took issue with, and what does our hairline run along? -the forehead, and it was not "retreating" enough, to retreat means also to "recede" .
2 Kings 2 read:
"23 ¶ And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children [HEB Youth] out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."
Without fail, anyone who dramatically bashes my CDV (I think is of Joseph Smith) , always bring up the lack of bouffant/poof, arguing he is "too bald", but that Elvis poof was always absent in all other artist renditions of Joseph. Above is the oldest photograph of the Death mask, I could find on google (not saying it's the oldest photograph of the Dibble Death mask, just looks the oldest, lacking the plaster that they threw onto his hairline), it's clear if Joseph Smith had the Elvis hairdo in 1842, it was gone within two years (and two months when he is alleged to have had his image taken).

Image above is the only version of the dibble death mask, Charles Carter glass negative of the Dibble Death Mask of Joseph Smith, that was taken before white, shiny plaster was added to the broken edges of Joseph's death mask; superimposed below, of the 2019 photographs taken by me, in person at the Church History Museum, you notice how the hairline and outline has changed significantly, and the older version better shows the receding hairline Joseph had, on June 28th, 1844.
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The original death mask's hairline matches the hairline in my 1860s Carte de Visite, Teghan Lucas and Maciej Henneberg found to likely be the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also of note are the profile paintings by Maudsley (showing a less bouffant hair, later years almost flat comb over) and the painting kept in Brigham Young's office, all showing a much more receded hairline than what the forward facing painting (including the Library of Congress and Carter Image) portray.


Artwork by Bathsheba Smith, hair receded on the corners, to the ears.


"Black Top Hat, painting by Sutcliffe Maudsley, really shows the hair laying flat and a comb-over happening.
Most modern artwork of Joseph Smith, from "Lego Joseph", to the Broadway version, the Elvis Bouffant is- to us, Joseph Smith. When I saw 2009's popular movie, Twilight, and saw Edward's bouffant hair, I called it the Joseph Smith Hairstyle, we all believed that was "his hair", it wasn't until I saw my CDV that I began to see him differently and the truth is, WOMEN hardly make a peep about the hairline, whereas the men are the one's who take issue with it.
Women who see my Carte de Visite, look at the eyes, they see a good looking guy, they notice the matching facial features and honestly- we see "it" faster, the likeness, the goodness and the gosh-darn hairline is something we "get over" FAST, just as we get over fast how MOST guys by age 38 have somewhat of a receding hairline, and TODAY do a Comb-forward, OR- they do shave it all off, but we know you're doing it because you lost your hair. So, I beg of you, accept the reality of Joseph Smith's hairline and stop lying to me about a fictional hairline a goofy, comedic David Roger's did of Joseph Smith, accept he was likely making Joseph laugh with a roar because he was showing him how artist do "photoshop" 1840s style...
No Other Artist painting this Bouffant on Joseph, so Let the "Elvis Joseph Myth" Go...

Library of Congress image of "Joseph Smith", that Associates to Joseph Smith said didn't show his "retreating forehead" enough... they meant his "receding hairline" as retreating is synonymous with "receding".

6 May–June 1832, Joseph Smith's Journal States:
"..one day when I rose from the dinner-table, I walked directly to the door and commenced vomiting most profusely; I raised large quantities of blood and poisonous matter, and so great were the muscular contortions of my system that my jaw was dislocated in a few moments; this I succeeded in replacing with my own hands, and made my way to
Brother Whitney, (who was on the bed) as speedily as possible, he laid his hands on me and administered in the name of the Lord, and I was healed in an instant, although the effect of the poison had been so powerful, as to cause much of my the hair to become loosened from my head. "
Merely months before Joseph's journal speaks of losing his hair, he was mobbed in Hiram, Ohio, where he was drug from his bed by a group of angry men, some who had their hands in his hair as they drug me out the door:
"...I found myself going out of the door, in the hands of about <a> dozen men; some of whose hands were in my hair, and some hold of my shirt, drawers and limbs...he first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated Mob. I made a desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which I made a pass at one man..." c