Found at a Doll Show…

AT A DOLL SHOW. I still wonder how the dag gods directed me to the location? I vaguely remember attending an earlier show and picking up a mimeographed (yep that long ago) announcement that there was a nearby show at the Elks or was it a Masonic Hall? Why did I stop there? As I wandered around realizing immediately that my chances of finding any type of daguerreotype were most likely nil and never I swung around the corner of a row and headed for the door. At the very last table, this archivally conserved horizontal sixth plate in a complete leather case with an early lyre theme pressed on the cover was just lying there open. The children looked up at me begging to come home in my pocket. Both of the adorable kids spoke to me as one voice. Twenty-eight years later, they still remain with their friends in a safe deposit box. They were taken late in 1843 or early 1844 by a highly skilled operator. He bathed the brother and sister from high above and gave their lovely faces depth. The little gal had placed her hand on the arm of that tiny wooden chair. Her sibling cupped his hand on top. He seemed to peer at the lens while she focused above the camera, maybe watching the daguerreotypist or a parent who stood nearby. Both tots had expressions of wonderment and innocence on their faces. Gold was painted on the gal?s daguerreian locket and that bracelet with the tinted red gemstone in the center. A pebbled paper mat was used to frame the pair. The creamy tonality of the image is surprising. Mold spiders are plentiful but not harmful. The stains between the siblings and on the girl?s dark dress might have been there since the day they sat for this amazing daguerreotype!