Ninth Plate

CURLY TOP! Could a young gal have sat more rigidly than this youthful poser while a retaped ninth plate was taken? The operator warned the child to remain motionless. The child’s gaze wasn’t of this earth, seeing past the camera, through the wall and into space during her ordeal of having a dag taken. It must have been summery outdoors since that remarkable pleated dress had short sleeves. The large book was merely a prop and not an object the kid carried with her. I think the largest letters are “WAR”! Hmmm . . . was the maker an anarchist? Don’t know and never will, but I can say with certainty, he was an excellent daguerreotypist, tinting his teeny patron’s flesh tones and that tablecloth before handing the likeness to an adult in an intact leather case, before finally sharing it with her. Tiny mat marks and patina, including that dot on the right are visible. For you sharp-eyed inspectors of my fine dags, you don’t believe for a moment that the little girl wore a wedding band on her ring finger, do you?