Sixth Plate

HIS WAS THE WIDEST! The gent was seated and loosely composed for this restored sixth plate that had the thinnest rectangular brass mat used during the early period of daguerreotypy! He narrowed his eyes somewhat when the heavy plate without a hallmark was being exposed with his visage. The corners of the piece were clipped medium width and the sides were flat. The silver was improperly rolled on the copper and there are pits visible that were filled in by the gold chloride at the end of the process. Nearly full-frontal light bathed the serious subject who reached his arm out away from his body when he rested it on top of a small covered table. The maker added gold to his watch fob and painted that dashing tie with a blue pigment. Even light rouge was placed on the man?s cheeks and lips. I wonder if the white fabric behind the fellow continued forward to serve as a partial reflector? Multi-hued patina frames the subject. Much of the degradation on that formal jacket and near his face was a chemistry problem I suspect. Even with the aberrations, this likeness was a smashing triumph taken at the beginning of the early period of daguerreotypy, circa 1844. The intact leather case suffered extraordinary wear during the lifetime of the piece. A horizontal lyre theme is on the cover while the reverse was plain. A fire engine red silk pad is inside.