D-197. NOT WHAT YOU THOUGHT. It would be funny if that WAS a ribbon in the center of his receding hair line, however it a tarnish blemish that escaped the heavy oval of oxidation around the daguerreotypist's patron. This early, circa 1843-44 effort is instructive in several facets. First, the hallmarks, 40I in an elongated oval with an M in an oval next to it in one corner and a six pointed star with an A in the center surrounded by a circle in the opposite corner are both rare and I have never seen them used together. Then, remnants of heavy white paint remain on the gentleman's shirt and the pages of his small book. That was used in an attempt to mask the solarization, which was revealed when someone long ago cleaned the retaped sixth plate's surface. Most interesting to me is that hazy area around the fellow's shirt, on his tie and vest. The operator placed a white reflector there for too many seconds during the exposure (in an effort to control the solarization). The man's flesh tones were once marvelously tinted too. His face resembles a square because he deeply held his breath. There is nothing mysterious about his clearly focused intense eyes. Asking him hold open his tiny tome created an interesting composition. I should mention that the plate was resilvered, which is unusual this early in the dag era. There are a few small mold spiders. $145