TWICE TAKEN! Sixth Plate

An astounding and possibly the most bizarre retaped sixth plate daguerreotype of a child that was ever placed on a silvered gold chloride coated veneer. The portrait is so arresting and quizzical that I can’t be certain if it was meant to be viewed as a vertical or horizontal double portrait. The young child was placed on a pillow and comforted by a parent’s hand during the first exposure. Then the plate was repositioned and that hand was removed when the next image was taken, probably because the babe had passed away. The medium weight plate without a hallmark arrived without the original mat and the surface was covered by tarnish. Casey did the archival restoration and used an appropriate mat for the period we believe the daguerreotype was created in the late 1840s. The complete black leather push button Boston style case came with the likeness. Remnants of an old paper seal clung to the copper including a tiny piece that had ?Locke? printed in black by a letterpress. These artifacts have been retained. Previously, the entire surface had been wiped and over time a colony of mold spiders has grown. If you look closely on the pillows there are marks that might have been done by the unknown daguerreian when he placed a mask on the mirror during the production of this phenomenal image. The blue haziness in my scan is difficult to find when this masterpiece of manipulation is keenly observed!