Sixth Plate

WHAT MAKES A GREAT DAG? A gorgeous young woman who visited a daguerreotypist with a rather unusual style of producing a sixth plate portrait, that still had original tape seals before Casey did his archival magic, were three key ingredients. No one had touched her phenomenal masterwork in over 150 years until she appeared in my hands recently. Those orange spots probably evolved after specks of moisture-laden glass dropped down onto the remarkable surface. Although the tape was crumbling the hazy dark blue oxidation is a pleasant contrast to the exceptionally tinted beauty’s portrait. She has most remarkable eyes and a wide pleasing set of lips. The operator used a skylight directly above her to bathe his subject in shimmering brilliance. If only every one of you readers could open up her perfect leather case and play with the angle of light on her likeness, observing the richness of the colors, both natural and applied, on the radiance of the silver. My scan is merely a ghostly representation of the original. The lass is held in place by bright red velvet. Opposite her image is a smashing burgundy velvet pad that was nicely embossed.