COULDN’T HAVE BEEN NATURAL! Really folks, look at the fellow’s perfectly coiled coiffure. He must have used pomade and spend some serious curling iron time primping for his visit to a daguerreian’s studio. His facial features were almost too perfect. Once new glass and an archival seal were done, the sixth plate scanned and the minor tonality and contrast corrections made, I decided to figure out why the backdrop was so funky. Casey and I looked closely at the gent’s fine portrait that had aged almost to perfection except for some meaningless dots. His face was finely tinted yet applied color barely touched his hands and manicured fingernails. Ah . . . back to that shadowy area behind the subject. At first we thought it might have been a problem with the original chemistry or the application of the gold chloride. But neither of those thoughts seemed applicable. Then I had a momentary brainstorm and rotated the guy 180 degrees. Please see the second scan!!! It was instantly obvious that the plate was reused because the original portrait of a woman wasn’t acceptable. Her dress billowed out around the patron’s head. A decorative design on her shoulder was clearly visible. Her face would have been located . . . ah . . . and he is kept in a complete leather case.
