Sixth Plate

HE HAD A HAMMER! The callow mechanic must have been displaying his first finished metallic piece that he created. Certainly this youngster couldn’t have been old enough when his likeness was taken circa 1852 to have been more then an apprentice. His archivally sealed sixth plate is kept in a fine complete leather push button case. There are a few harmless brown dots on the shimmering silver surface. The tonality is absolutely beautiful. The focus was extremely crisp and the illumination that entered the small space from the left perfectly bathed the boy in brightness, aided by a reflector, which is partially visible in the upper right corner. I should mention that in the same location there are spidery threads in the silver that are so fine as to be nearly invisible. I believe they were there the day the lad was taken. The flywheel resting in his lap and the tool he used to craft the piece greatly added to the wonderful story his daguerreotype tells us.