IT WAS SUGGESTED . . . by a longtime family friend, former curator at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco and insatiable collector, Robert Flynn Johnson, that this remarkable engraving was most likely done either by Raphael, the Italian Renaissance master, or another artist following the style he incorporated in his work. One has to wonder, if the model who posed for this masterpiece was as sensual in life as she was depicted in the work of art that was copied circa 1845 onto a retaped sixth plate daguerreotype. Since I never studied metallurgy, I can?t say with certainty what the composition of the narrow opening octagonal mat was. However, it certainly doesn?t appear to have been a typical brass design, but more like something with a high concentration of silver. There are ample mat scrapes in the tarnish, mold spiders and imperfections on the surface. The intact leather case has a fine repaired spine. The horizontal lyre theme on the cover was one of Mathew Brady?s classic designs. ?M. B. Brady Case Maker N.Y.? was stamped into the leather on the front. The reverse was plain.
