Simply Superlative Quarter Plate Dag

SIMPLY SUPERLATIVE. The middle-aged woman sat comfortably next to a table supporting a small vase filled to overflowing with expertly tinted flowers and greenery. In fact, I can?t recall ever seeing any better pigment placement circa 1844-1845! She wore a wistful expression on her lips and stared pensively beyond the plane of the camera while her unidentified operator asked her to place one hand in her lap and gently touch the top of the bouquet with the other one. Some archivally sealed quarter plate daguerreotypes, like this exquisite example, simply scream out at me. The level of professionalism required to produce such a masterwork on silver was instantly obvious! While intuitively I suspected that the blue haziness on the right side of the plate would immediately disappear if the piece was soaked in distilled water, who in their right mind would risk altering those applied colors? The cloudiness naturally vignetted the subject in an odd fashion. I wonder why she chose to wear only one fingerless lace mitt for her likeness? And that lace cap was elaborately crafted. A complete leather case contains her holographic triumph on silver!