Copy Dag, Sixth Plate

NOW I KNOW. This is a very curious sixth plate copy daguerreotype that has a new archival seal. In the upper left corner a portion of the original mat was visible. Both dags were made circa 1845. The very handsome gent stood for his portrait and he grasped the inner edges of his gown to help steady his hands. If only he would have worn a mortarboard I could have been certain of his scholarly profession. Although I guess he might have been a member of a prestigious choral ensemble and not an educator. What has me totally fascinated is the fringe hung on the fabric behind him. Was it a design in the cloth? Did it have some sort of added meaning? Certainly the ?studio? was a makeshift adventure. The daguerreotypist used window light from the right and a large reflector opposite to perfectly illuminate his erudite subject. The reflected depth is off the holographic chart of reality, even though this was a second dag!!!! That is a fingerprint upper right in the corner. There are mold spiders scattered about. The black mark on the fellow?s forehead was lint caught in the gold chloride. The silver was recleaned to bring out the brilliance of the likeness. A fine whole leather case continues the wonderful presentation.