Sixth Plate

WOW . . . I wonder why mommy is holding on to me so tightly and what is that man doing next to that big wooden box with the shiny thing on the front. Could those thoughts have been part of the amazed little lad’s thought process as he sat on the side of a posing chair while he and mother had their archivally sealed sixth plate likeness taken? Or was he totally awestruck and uncomfortable? Plenty of rich patina mirrors the oval mat shape except on the left side where it ebbs and flows. The white dot is an artifact from the day the piece was taken in the early 1850s. Their flesh tones look much nicer (than seen in the scan) when the intact leather case is opened. Inside there is a faded red silk pad, which is late for the case theme, that shows two birds on top of an overflowing basket of flowers. I was strongly attracted to the dag because of the overall creaminess that I can’t reproduce and the remarkable sharpness. The added colors and the characters are also quite interesting.