Sixth Plate

THE STRETCH! A balding man sat close to a plain piece of fabric that was probably tacked onto a wall. He jacked his left arm towards a cloth-covered table and rested it there. As if to steady himself the eager sitter held onto his lapel with his other hand. Penciled on the blue paper liner inside the whole leather case is: “H.B. Hyatt April 8th 1853.” Who would believe that Mr. Hyatt could have been daguerreotyped that late in the daguerreian era? I wonder if he was seated in an itinerant’s wagon? The splotches on the retaped sixth size surface of the brass mat are part of the metal and not stains. There is scattered oxidation and many dots and spots (no green ones) on the surface. I would be remiss not to mention the odd red velvet pad. The embossing is unique to my eye. A frame of oval dots and leaves surrounds a bouquet of flowers. However, it is positioned above the centerline horizontally and is visually arresting.