DID SHE HOLD HER BREATH? Quarter Plate

The youthful pair were daguerreotyped on a once brilliant quarter plate. Someone took the package apart and broke the hinge on the leather case. They created mat abrasions, mercifully hidden in the very dark patina and also marred the man’s jacket with wispy vertical scratches. Never-the-less, now that a new seal and clean glass have been completed, the twosome look so much better. At the time they were taken in the late 1840s, their daguerreotypist embellished the piece with an outstanding artistic flair, using enough pigments to give the duo’s flesh tones a realistic appearance. And that further placement of blue pigment on the woman’s dress was truly inspired.