Ninth Plate

SO EXPERIMENTAL! An oversized ninth plate presentation shows a close-up of an older woman framed by an elegant rippled paper mat covered with indented gold leaf. The heavy plate was hand cut and not made into a rectangle. At certain angles I can see vertical undulations in the silver caused by an uneven rolling process when the silver and copper were clad together. I suspect that the dag, with furrows for buff marks, and blast light on the woman’s face was taken circa 1840. Original patina fills most of the areas around the subject, who moved during the exposure that was probably several minutes in duration. Bad glass deterioration possibly caused some of the decay on the surface while the remainder probably happened because of the inexact nature of the science so early in the history of daguerreotypy! The common leather case has rosettes in the corners and a plain reverse. The pad is purple silk.