Sixth Plate

FLOWING DRAPERY. Bright blue must have been the color of the day in the studio, when resealed sixth plates were finished and given to clients. The vertical folds in the backcloth and the raking light from the side that also lit the woman, created depth and deceptive motion behind the solid subject! I am interested in the object she held in her arthritic hand. Not a small book or a normal style of dag case. I?m really not certain what it might have been. The mish mash of objects on top of the table seem to have been strewn there without much thought to composition or neatness. Yet, the lady remained unaware of her surroundings and was completely unflappable. She must have been at least moderately pleased with her portrait since it has survived in a complete leather case. There are a couple mat scrapes, tarnish and mold spiders near the periphery of the piece.