Sixth Plate

WHO WON? It is so easy to let my mind run free when I see a steely eyed fellow looking directly into the lens with such intense concentration and oh . . . by the way not making any attempt to hide that scar under his cheekbone. Obviously if he received that cut in a duel or some sort of scuffle he managed to walk away and live another day. Just because he has a youthful face that didn’t even sprout a beard yet please don’t under estimate the hidden power in his neck and shoulders. Could he have been a sailor and had the lightly cleaned archivally sealed sixth plate taken at an unknown port of call? That was quite a fancy stickpin he ran through the knot of his long tie tucked into a white shirt. A few scattered tarnish dots and a couple other spots remain on the holographic surface. That faint white line across the man’s jacket was part of the process. Curiously, the cover of the leather case is a common floral design with “Pretlove” stamped in the lower left corner. It was joined at the time the resealed dag was taken, about 1849, to an unusual Delicate Roses theme on the reverse.