Sixth Plate

RED AND GOLD! Those were the applied pigments on the lad’s little basket while he swayed to and fro in front of the camera after his parents brought him to a daguerreotypist’s establishment to be taken in sixth plate size. The highlights on the edge of the chair are impressive. The child’s shoes are sharp and well defined! Even the tablecloth had an interesting pattern. The lines along the top were faults in the silver surface. Small mat marks are seen when the separated cover of the leather case is removed. That brown deposit might be some sort of mold on the tyke’s cheek. Oxidation is most obvious along the bottom.