BEFORE THE STORM!

Those billowing dark clouds painted above the conical shaped mountain might have precluded the arrival of a winter snow dump, yet the client of the unidentified daguerreotypist sat stolidly and held his hands together while the man produced a resealed sixth plate that has explosive depth and contrast! Could the subject’s dark-eyed direct gaze been any more intense. Outstanding light from the right lit the fellow’s facial features with such perfection that one might have wondered if his countenance was chiseled from a block of marble. Patina lined the inside of his octagonal frame. There are mold spiders in a few locations. The cloudy areas in the darkest region of his jacket are a mystery. It might have been caused by improper gilding. Those teeny white dots are daguerreian frosting. It does appear that there is one wipe in the lower right corner against the brass edge. Don’t be surprised if you are the next owner and at certain angles you spy horizontal lines from top to bottom. Could an operator have used a wire brush to polish the surface? Naturally, at the perfect angle to admire the man, who is held in a full leather case, that had an old outer hinge repair, the chap’s likeness is sensational! A deeply embossed pattern on both covers was imprinted with a bright gold finish.