Full Salon Archive

THE OCTAGONAL PLASTIC CASE . . . Has chipped and cracked during the sixth plate's 160 year existence and those mold spiders and white specks weren't present in the beginning. While the aging process modified the silvery resealed surface...
CHEST HAIRS . . . Combed up into that wiry white beard and hair from the side and back of the gent's forward brushed mane created a look that obviously pleased the fellow since he permitted himself to be recorded on a ninth plate dag that...
GRADUATED! Have you ever seen such a dapper artisan? I suspect that he has served his apprenticeship with a master craftsman and now it was time for the young gent to strike out on his own. He chose an excellent daguerreotypist to...
ATTACHED LACE. As you can see, someone used white string to hold that beautiful piece of needle work to the unadorned red velvet pad inside a sixth plate leather case that has a design on the cover that is unique to my eyes (please see...
LATE FOR FITZ! A very endearing image of grandma holding her 8-year-old granddaughter's hand in her lap. The little girl leaned in the direction of the ample woman's side. Her natural curiosity bursts out at us when we examine her...
YOUNG COWGIRL. Anxious to get out of that chair and back outside to all its wonder, the child is almost falling or jumping out of the seat. She is eager to get back to exploring and imagining, as all young children do. I call her a...
INTERESTING. The older sister stood lovingly next to her, with a long slender arm draped over her shoulder while the daguerreotypist struggled to make an acceptable sixth plate for their parents. I am delighted that their portrait has...
WHAT MAKES A GREAT DAG? A gorgeous young woman who visited a daguerreotypist with a rather unusual style of producing a sixth plate portrait, that still had original tape seals before Casey did his archival magic, were three key...
LOVED ONES ON SILVER. Mother held her cherished daguerreotype displaying a young couple, who might have been their children or one child with his spouse while her grumpy husband, who probably was told the price of their archivally sealed...
KIDS ON A COUCH. A rather bland beginning to a miraculous (because although the lad on the left moved during the exposure he is still strongly seen) sixth sized miniature. His older brother, and maybe by not more than a few minutes,...
SCALLOPED VIGNETTE! I like mysterious dags, and the serious gal's sixth plate rates an A. First the pose. "Sit ramrod straight in that chair Miss and rest your arm on my enormous Bible, as I am a pious traveling daguerreian and...
MATLIDA BAKER . . . is penciled in the bottom of the separated leather case. An absolutely stunning bright blue embossed velvet pad is seen opposite the lass when the broken cover is taken off her countenance. Miss M sat on a cushioned...
ON THE MAT. Although it was nearly invisible at first, Casey's young eyes spotted the lengthy imprint across the bottom of the fancy mat. It is: Winder Cor. W(estern) Row & Court Cin. O(hio). John Craig tells us that John W. Winder...
SARAH P. KILBURN. Written in the bottom of her whole leather case and on a small scrap of paper is further information about Ms. Kilburn, who is so elegantly posed in her resealed sixth plate likeness. She was from West Newton, MA. ...
CHECKERED TROUSERS. The daguerreotypist perfectly posed his freckle-faced subject knowing when the sixth plate fancy oval mat was placed around him the composition would be pleasing. A small chair was used to seat the very handsome kid,...
OH NO . . . she must have been thinking. If that MAN says one more bad word to me I'm going to burst into tears. Instead, the extremely discontented little girl produced her best frown while boring into the lens with those deep-set dark...
IMPECCABLE! The lovely woman posed for her resealed quarter plate masterwork in the studio of Henry E. Insley, probably while he operated at 122 Broadway, circa 1847-50. Insley is very familiar to me and I have included a couple examples...
TWINS? Casey first mentioned that the lovely pair of posers were definitely sisters and I immediately concurred. There is a creamy richness on the perfect silver surfaced resealed sixth plate that adds to the superlative nature of their...
HER SOFT SMILE. Created in a style that strongly resembles daguerreotypes produced by Southworth & Hawes in Boston, this resilvered retaped ninth plate truly sparkles when the smiling gal's very worn red velvet oval push button case is...
HETTIE COLLINS. Not on my best scanning day could I possibly replicate the delicate creaminess of the lovely lady's neatly sealed sixth plate gem. Ms. Collins sat in a classic daguerreian pose and was given a small dag case to hold...
SOPHISTICATED! And very tinted too. At least the colorist used a medium red to accentuate the tablecloth and maybe a subtler shade on her face, hands and lips. The lady posed with great strength and prominence in her archivally renewed...
"BOGARDUS . . . Greenwich St. Corner Barclay N.Y." was pressed into the reverse of a near mint leather case that contains a brightly hand colored kid seated in a small wooden chair. Since the paper seals appeared to be original I noted...
IT'S UNUSUAL . . . to have a child pose in this manner with one arm thrust through the back of a chair while seated and turned sideways! Studying the lad's stern expression might be an indication of why the maker opted for the arrangement....
GOODNESS GRACIOUS! Has an attractive teenager ever been daguerreotyped in a sixth sized dream wearing a more proactively patterned dress? Not only did her maker create a sensational rich and mind bending masterwork, he used a standard...
MYSTERY! I can recite a monologue detailing the nuances about this splendid candid outdoor sixth plate that has new seals and was copied from another daguerreotype OR I will briefly state the facts. I have never seen a more relaxed...
SOMETIMES . . . The dag God is kind to children and fools. The latter in this specific example is a moron who altered the appearance of this charming resealed sixth plate dag. Someone removed a perfectly fine brass mat from circa 1848...
PASSED ALONG! If care is taken while examining their depth defying silver surface holding a superbly fashioned archivally taped sixth plate any person will observe freckles on the youngster's forehead. A quick glance at the handsome...
SHE'S RELAXED! The young beauty wore an elegant ensemble for her brilliantly produced archivally resealed quarter plate that has four sides bent upwards at almost a 90 degree angle. Because of that feature and unbelievable technical...
THOSE PALE . . . Green eyes were wide open while the gorgeous young female concentrated away from the obvious place to look (into the lens) and dreamily rose to another level in her mind while being daguerreotyped in quarter size that was...
COQUETTISH! Sophisticated illumination from a skylight and a very unusual pose for such an adorable little girl in her own dreamlike world should instantly attract any collector of fine daguerreotypes. If that isn't enough look into...
WIDE . . . And old loose paper seals have kept the sixth plate dag components together for many years. The domed glass has a few minor pits and a couple scratches. There is plenty of dust, yet the precocious dark eyed little damsel...
SURELY . . . She was quite convincing when the operator at Anson's gallery inquired about the pose his client wanted. One look at her elegant dress should have been a clue. The man accommodated the lady by raising the height of his...
RELATIONSHIP. The great operators, like Jeremiah Gurney, not only produced technically excellent quarter plate daguerreotypes with amazing hand colors added as the final embellishment, but they were also capable of posing their clients...
"GENERAL ...... Don Francisco Gana, brother or nephew of Mrs. J. Sewell Muir" is written on a small white card that comes with this miraculous quarter plate daguerreotype. Also included is a very long history of "General Gana" who most...
LITTLE BIG MAN. Could the youth been more than 10 years old when he posed for his portrait done in sixth size? The lad's mother must have been fanatical and frantic before sitting him in front of a camera for the resealed likeness. She...
FLAWLESS! Broad window light reflected softly in the teenager's lovely dark eyes tucked back above a field of freckles dotting the sitter's face. The gal was comfortably posed and rested one arm and her gloved hand on a tabletop drawn...
MIRACLES DO HAPPEN. I was leaving an antique shop in southern Maine in 1992 when a dealer I knew walked towards me with an armful of merchandise he was going to place in his booth. In his right breast pocket I saw one third of a very...
A MIRACLE ON SILVER! How great can a half plate daguerreotype be? I think that this sensational presentation with a tremendous amount of pertinent information carefully etched into the original cover glass is certainly a candidate for "fi...
DAGUERREIAN CAMERA'S PLATE HOLDER! Very infrequently are we afforded the opportunity to examine daguerreian equipment displayed in an actual daguerreotype, but this stunning resealed sixth plate is truly a special exception. The very...
NEW YEAR'S DAY DELIGHT. Although I was near the front of the line January 1, 1994 the magnificent daguerreotype I am about to describe had already been purchased by a dealer during their set up time. The purchaser chided me for never...
AN OLD MAID? She may be an attractive lady, but the fact still remains that, (well at least from this frontal view), she has a cackling witchÕs nose. Albeit, she does sit calmly and there is an overall feeling of gentleness coming from...
SURREAL! I will begin by telling you that the plate stock is heavy, the sides are perfectly flat and the corners are barely clipped at slight angles. There isn't any hallmark. The beautiful octagonal mat is actually made from thick...
"REMEMBER ME"! An early sixth plate, circa 1843, revealing a seated young girl holding the bottom of a dark vase filled with an arrangement of flowers. I always wondered what the words were on the facing of the pot. Even when I copied...
A SURVIVOR! The woman on the left appears to have contracted small pox when she was younger. It was a deadly virus in the mid-19th century. She obviously managed to survive. Her face is covered with the lasting remnants of the disease,...
HE'S SOOO CUTE. I have never been so compelled to reach into a sixth plate and gently grasp a kid by his shoulders and give him a bear hug. The standing boy, so perfectly balanced; resting his hand on a low table top and holding his...
SHAKIN' ALL OVER! Hey, I'm NOT making sport of the elderly woman who wore her mop cap and was bundled up so she didn't catch a chill while she visited a local daguerreian to have this remarkable resealed quarter plate dag taken. ...
THE SIGNS . . . are unmistakable according to my wife Carol, who is a pediatrics nurse. The rather apprehensive young woman clutching her young son was definitely pregnant when she had their sixth plate portrait taken sometime after 1850....
ALL IS BETTER! When have you seen such a luscious preview of the original resealed sixth plate portrait that I presented in this adequate scan? The pretty teenager focused her green eyes across the room while the daguerreotypist exposed...
WHO THOUGHT . . . Comb overs were invented in the last century? Raise your hands! This scowling stern disciplinarian didn't give a hoot what anyone thought of his appearance, did he? When he walked into the dag saloon for his retaped (by...
GOLLY GEE! Not only do I not recall seeing that splendid wooden chair in another sixth plate dag that has a new seal, but I have never seen one like it during 25 years of antiquing. The woman's hooded eyes casually peered at the camera...
"HOLD YOUR BREATH . . . Little gals," the daguerreotypist said with a smile on his face so he didn't frighten his tiny subjects. The man had placed the tiny child in his small wooden chair and instructed her sister to stand behind and...
FADED GLORY. Although the older woman's ninth plate English daguerreotype has deteriorated some, the fact that she was taken close up then delicately hand tinted outweighs the original aging flaws. Her operator used three light sources...
ALWAYS FOCUS FIRST! That was a lesson learned by many not so skilled daguerreotypists when they approached the process of making resealed sixth plate images. It is obvious in this example, showing a little lass who in the blink of an eye...
NOT A BASHFUL BOY! He was a charmer while he sat still for a ninth plate dag that tells me the daguerreian probably had to ask repeatedly for his subject's silence so the likeness could be taken. When I lifted off the separated cover of...
STUDIO HAT? Would that child have worn such a large headgear into the daguerreotypist's gallery accompanied by a parent to have his sixth plate taken? It appears to have been placed next to the kid's hand on the table as a prop used to...
WILL-O'-THE-WISP! At first glance the resealed sixth plate is unusual because of all the space around the youngster seated on that large wooden chair. He was dressed nicely and wore an apprehensive expression on his face. Full frontal...
OKAY DAD . . . I'll do what you say this time, but HE better behave himself because I don't want to get into trouble while we are at that dag . . . well at the place we are going! The older brother made the attempt to smile for this sixth...
TASSEL HEADBAND. This little girl is sporting an odd fashion in her sixth plate daguerreotype. The dag is well made and she stayed still for the unknown maker, who later tinted her cheeks. The image is re-glassed and resealed. There...
THE CLASH! Of course the woman didn't know ahead of time when she selected that impressive dress for her semi-formal sixth size image that it would be in "contrast" with the operator's unusual table covering, did she? The late 1840s...
CHERRY CHEEKS! What a contrast in their expressions! Can there be any doubt that the self-assured girl and the hesitant little boy with his hand on the gal's shoulder were brother and sister? The unusual brass mat gives their retaped...
A SOLID MAN. Would seriously gruff adequately describe the gentleman's appearance while he posed for a retaped sixth sized dag that certainly was produced by an operator that was there today and gone on the morrow? The oldster probably...
SIGNED IN THE SILVER . . . by the maker Silvester! Unfortunately I don't know any more about the daguerreotypist except that Erin and I both believe that the suave young gentleman posed for his archivally taped sixth plate somewhere in...
PASSIVE CONFIDENCE. Unlike another male dag in this offering, the fellow in this sixth plate that was sealed a couple days ago, has a calming affect on the viewer when the separated leather case cover is removed. The maker must have...
NOT ORIGINAL. The pair of ma and pa tintypes inside the quarter plate push button leather case adorned front and back with a pebbled surface are not original to this "Mascher's Improved Stereoscope" that was constructed by John F. Mascher...