Quarter Plate

WHAT WAS SAID? The consternation revealed on the faces of these children certainly told a tale of utter disgust. Could the maker have scolded them for misbehaving while they were seated horizontally across the nearly pristine surface of his sparkling mirror? Were they actually siblings? The dark eyes and ruddy complexions that both boys had were completely opposite of the girl’s pale eyes and milk-white flesh tones. I really think that the daguerreotypist was at his wit?s end with this threesome! Why did he almost chop off the eldest subject? Did he move his camera slightly to accommodate the lad?s out stretched arm on the right? The lovely gal was oblivious to her companions? antics. She shied away from the bad boy on the right. I wonder if her parents were inside the piece of daguerreian jewelry she wore attached to a cord looped around her neck. Those double white dots on her wrist were an imperfection in the new cover glass. The children?s faces were lightly tinted. Their quarter plate leather case; like the surface of the likeness, are both in excellent condition. Inside, the dark burgundy pillow was beautifully embossed. I would be remiss if I didn?t tell you that I have no idea why there were circular swirls in the cloth behind the central figure?s head. They were part of the image.