Gilded Black Paper Mat

GILDED BLACK PAPER MAT. Curmudgeon was the initial descriptive word that entered my fertile mind after I carefully examined THE FACE attached to the neck and torso of the older gent who posed with a cantankerous sneer on his lips and maybe malice in those wandering beady eyes. I do believe that he spruced himself up before the archivally sealed sixth size portrait was taken. Using sheep sheers to trim his mane and a dull razor clam shell as a substitution for a straight razor, we are looking at the results of his efforts. The man’s furrowed face was lit with light that revealed a lifestyle accustom to hard work. While I might have seemed a bit harsh in my description of the subject, he was another person taken circa 1846 that I definitely would like to have met. I just opened his complete leather case that has a red silk pad inside and was immediately reminded why looking at a scan versus the daguerreotype is not comparable. The meanie hissed then growled in a gravelly bass voice, “No, you wouldn’t have enjoyed talking to me!” You be the judge! Great deep depth and excellent contrast are only exceeded by fantastic tonality! The condition is almost flawless!