Sixth Plate

HOW OLD? Guess my age and if you are wrong I will slug you! Questions? The size of the ancient woman’s hand would certainly equal any prize fighter?s in her day. She sat stoically with a sneer on her small mouth while she was taken circa 1846. The fact that the shadows behind her mimicked bars make one really wonder, where was she seated? The portly subject was obviously placed on this mirror by either an amateur or an itinerant operator. I doubt that anyone who hung up an advertising shingle lasted long even in a remote hamlet offering this type of results, which contrary to what you might think, really is a stellar example of a resealed sixth plate produced in very rural America. Watching Casey agonize over his own modern daguerreotype productions and having read the tales of woe from many men and women who practiced the art in the first few years permits me to say that each time an image was successfully recorded it was a good effort. Although the contrast was too fully extended the reflected depth was spectacular. The lady remained motionless, which was an accomplishment for one so old. Mold spiders and white specks are hardly noticeable when the separated cover of her leather case is removed. Certainly, her last exclamation must have been, “not too bad, just don’t try and estimate how much I weigh”, as she waddled away from the camera on the arm of her grandson.