Sixth Plate

MANE OF WHITE. Tight lipped and narrow eyes might indicate that the operator had quoted his elderly subject the price of this archivally taped sixth plate just before the lens cap was removed! Did the man begin to swoon, catching himself at the last moment, before he would have fallen out of the camera’s coverage? He is off-center for sure. Superlative contrast and awesome sharpness added to the tremendous reflected brilliance are hallmarks of his portrait. The maker colored his face and presented his patron with a fine leather case that has come undone at the hinge. Two mold spiders are visible and there is a slight dimple in the surface (and a pair on the gent’s cheeks) near that dark spot on the right. Oxidation is present and a dark polishing mark across the top.