Photo from olden days

[Scott Bailey]

Maybe his annoying, ugly, and probably irritating beard is his way of trying to protect his face a little bit?

Gloves? No. Veil? No. Helper? No. Smoker? No. Hive tool?  No.  Eye protection? No.  Strapped ankles & wrists?  No.  

But looks like he has lots of hives. Maybe that indicates he'seither nuts, or not deterred by painful stings. If honeybees arrived in western USA mid-late 1800s through San Jose Calif. like Paul Cronshaw taught, then date of this must be real soon after.

source  https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-beehive-state/