Quarter Plate

OKAY TO ASK! Was that a wooden post or a granite marker in the foreground? Did it delineate a boundary line of a cemetery? At first I thought it might have been a mile marker, but there was no indication that a road was near it. The shape at the top appeared to be skewed but maybe, since the lens or camera tilted to the right the object was distorted. Next question, what was the purpose of the quarter plate daguerreotype? If the brick jail with the iron bars over the windows beyond that picket fence (Tom and Huck hadn?t been there to whitewash it yet) was centered I would conclude that might have been a good reason to take the scene. Was it the house on the rise set back along the skyline? Could the cameraman have lived there? The property was surrounded by a substantial painted fence. This might have been the best viewpoint. I kind of discount the remaining structures since none of them are shown clearly focused in their entirety. Casey and I both like this daguerreotype because of the randomness. The tonality is quite fine and the contrast is good. The silver was cleaned. There are mat marks across the top and one scratch that becomes invisible at the best angle of view. It runs from the mat diagonally towards the white edifice. There are a few chemical spots in the sky and several tiny crimps in the silver that are difficult to see. Let me suggest this theory. Someone purchased a daguerreian outfit and after many attempts FINALLY produced this very acceptable tableau. Casey made a new leather spine on the floral themed case. Pretlove, the diesinker?s name, was stamped on the lower center.