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| D07-74. MORDACAI LEWIS. According to the information written recently on an envelope Mr. Lewis of Chadd's Ford in Chester County PA was the proprietor of a mill on the site of the Brandywine Museum. The older gent was immortalized on a resealed half plate silver tablet of time! I believe that the daguerreotype was not made earlier than 1844 nor later than 1846. The daguerreian used a very distinct red wax on the reverse to secure the plate to a wooden block during the buffing procedure. Two of the corners were rounded and two were clipped at moderate angles. Three of the sides were bent back and the bottom side was irregularly trimmed. Obviously, Lewis was a wealthy and successful miller to have been able to afford this masterpiece. The ink well in the lower left corner matches the one shown in a half plate dag that was previously on my home page of two boys, who were also daguerreotyped about the same time. The photographic curator of a major institution and I both speculate that Montgomery Simons, the great Philadelphia daguerreian, was most likely the maker. Simons was a master of size and space management on his brilliantly produced examples. His astounding placement of Lewis is unsurpassed in the annals of the greatest daguerreian studio portraits. Sharpness of focus and astonishing illumination allow us to become immediately familiar with the man. There is impressive patina inside the rectangular gold paper mat. The two black specks were faults in the plate. The contrast is unbelievable with details recorded across the broad spectrum of tones. Holographic depth doesn't accurately indicate the true endless procession of reflections seen while Mr. Lewis is studied and ultimately admired as one of the greatest male portraits extant! He is kept in the bottom of an unadorned leather case. The missing cover was most likely a horizontal Grecian Urn theme. $15,500 |
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