Most Honourable and Facetious Society of Ugly Faces (various, 1668 – 1815)
To prove that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, members of Liverpool’s Most Honourable and Facetious Society of Ugly Faces drinking club were determined to prove that an ugly face or deformity did not automatically mean they were lesser men or evil. In the era when people with unconventional looks would charge the public and put themselves on display, the Ugly Faces club was determined to show their skills in art, literature, and other fine occupations. Membership was a group vote. A majority of members had to agree that you were ugly enough to join their ranks, and that ‘ugliness’ needed to be specifically concentrated in the face. Luck was on the side of a member with “mouth from ear to ear resembling the mouth of a shark.”