HE WALKED INTO A FOREST . . .

And the gentleman must have met a daguerreotypist working in a glade where the light was at a premium. But the camera operator assured his accidental patron if they were quick, he would make a stellar sixth plate likeness that has a new archival seal. A mellow rim of patina inside the octagonal mat mostly obscures tiny mat scrapes along the bottom. This is a superlative effort in the bottom of a leather case with a missing cover.