Sixth Plate

“DAVID MCGREGOR”! There was further information, “1823-1919? written on the scrap of paper adhered to new cover glass that Casey reattached after completing the archival restoration. David might have actually served in the Civil War at a rather advanced age. He saw the horrors and finally the finish of World War I on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in November 1918. McGregor passed to the great beyond four years shy of the century mark. On the archival tape Casey notated that the plate mark, “Howell & Read NY” was very rare and I certainly would concur. It appears that an oval brass mat might have been used originally to frame the wicked handsome chap, taken in a full frontal view seated nearer to the camera than what was usually practical. The close-up sixth plate is kept in a remarkably mint book style wooden and paper case embossed on both black covers with golden flowers that were lightly hand colored and surrounded by rectangular lines also done in gold as well as the wide spine that had the word ?BIJOU? boldly printed. Mat scrapes from the original surround and a few areas of deterioration are well away from the intense stare of Mr. McGregor!