Half Plate

THIS IS WHY . . . Many people in the daguerreian era and even today would have agreed that the gallery of Jeremiah Gurney was the place to go for exquisite half plate daguerreotypes. Casey did the archival restoration on this spectacular plate that has aged nearly flawlessly. Extremely precise illumination lit each person to perfection. Father sat and crossed one leg over the other and gripped his heavy jacket while following the cameraman?s instruction, who might have been Jeremiah Gurney himself, to peer at a place past the lens. The lovely young mother was instructed to also look beyond the camera. Her beautiful face was framed by the bonnet filled with silk flowers and tied underneath with broad ribbons. I wonder if their cunning daughter, standing on the left, happened to glance away from the mirrored surface just when the dark slide was pulled and the exposure was begun? She latched on to her mother to remain steady and for security. The final actor in this grand tableau was the young son, seated scrunched between his parents. It must be obvious to all of you that the studio was chilly the day the family visited Gurney?s gallery located at 189 Broadway in New York City. Obviously pink was the palette choice for embellishing the foursome. My scan provides a sense of the awesome tonality, but no reproduction can replicate the fabulous depth and superb quality that is visible when the complete leather case is opened. The patina created an added dimension of naturally flowing colors. This then, is a daguerreotype for a very advanced collection!