Dennis Waters, Fine Daguerreotypes

Salon Archive

CAW-486	WHAT WAS HIS GAME? Sinister was the first thought that entered my brain when Casey handed me the bottom of a sixth size leather case. Even though the old glass was badly decayed (and now the gent only has a few meaningless mold...
CAW-492	DON'T BLAME HIM! How would YOU have felt at four or five years old if your parents mentioned that they were taking you to a nice man's studio to have your daguerreotype taken and oh yes, please bring your puppy with you? Upon entering...
CAW-494	THE OPEN BOOK. Surely there must have been some significance in this setting that shares with us two lovely lasses expertly posed while their resealed quarter plate likeness was taken. It was common in the mid-19th century for women to...
CAW-495	A LITTLE BIT OF SOUL! Okay, I know you knew that was going to be the lead in after you studied the wonderful shoemaker plying his trade while a sixth plate portrait with a new seal was made. I believe that the daguerreian visited the...
CAW-496	ALL ABOUT HIS CLOTHES! Did the daguerreotypist purposely move the man right of center so that the soft spot created by improperly ground glass elements in the lens would fall on part of his face INSTEAD of the remarkable neatly knotted...
CAW-500	MAGIC . . . In the vignette that surrounded the bespectacled fellow was probably done chemically after his sixth plate was recorded. I have never been certain of the process. It worked nicely in this example. When the man's fine leather...
CPA	WHAT'S MISSING? Where WAS that fellow's shirt? Did he forget to bring one to the daguerreian rooms on a sweltering summer day? Once the daguerreotypist got over his shock at taking a naked torso (secretly wishing it had been the comely...
D05-116	A PROFESSIONAL PALETTE! Think of the greatest single word you might use to describe the gent's hand tinted "canvas" multiply that thought by 10 and then you might be in the correct visual arena for viewing the man's psychedelic sunbeam. ...
D06-11	DID HE KNOW? A fellow wearing his tall satin top hat tilted slightly sideways sat still while an operator executed his resealed sixth plate. I wonder if the subject realized that his vest was gapping? His pose was definitely stilted...
D06-72	"1856 MAY". Too bad the author of that information (penned on a sliver of paper glued to the pad on the leather case cover, which is apart) didn't include the name of the adorable little girl who bounced around while she was seated in a...
D07-166	THEIR FACES . . . Were filled with contemplation as they posed for their archivally taped sixth plate portrait. The young mother sat comfortably on a small wooden chair and her daughter stood beside her, holding a small book. The maker...
D07-203	IN THE SPOTLIGHT! Surreal illumination bathed the babe in pink who held a small metallic pail while seated on the top of a table draped with a floral patterned cloth that was tinted red upon completion of the freshly sealed sixth plate gem....
D07-29	A GRANDSON? My hat's off to the elderly couple if that cute little boy was actually their son. The stern faced woman had one hand holding the back of his tunic and used her other hand to keep the lad's under control. He held his chin...
D08-203	IN THE NAVY. According to an expert in the field, who asked to remain anonymous, the serious young man was a, U.S. Navy Lieutenant taken prior to the1845 regulation (which was implemented in 1846) that Lieutenants wear an epaulette on...
D09-0K	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...
D09-0L	MOST ATTRACTIVE BLUES! What s your favorite shade of blue? The luscious tint of a robin s egg that a very skillful maker applied to the adorable young woman s dress; or might it be the super richness of the royal blue velvet pad inside...
D09-0P	THE MAN'S HAND . . . Arose from the girl's own shadow and his fingers gently touched her arm while a sixth plate likeness was made. The unhappy little girl nearly bit her lip in frustration as she wondered why her terrible parents forced...
D09-198	LOCAL HISTORY! "Joseph Cutter . . . Of the 'Ark' Jaffrey N.H." was typed on a slip of paper that is pinned to the red silk sixth size pad opposite the male subject who was the son of Joseph and Phoebe (Gage) Cutter. Please read the...
D09-202	"GODDARD . . . WOONSOCKET" was stamped in the lower left corner of the oval brass mat surrounding the cunning kid posed for a tinted sixth plate portrait. The most remarkable feature of the entire tableau is the child's multi colored...
D09-206	FRIENDS FOREVER! A pair of young gals with similar facial features would strongly hint at their blood relationship. The sisters sat together with arms around each other and watch ed the operator perform his task of taking at least one...
D09-212	SEAMSTRESSES. Can there be any doubt that the lovely ladies seated on either side of the small table covered by a patterned piece of textile were not engaged in finishing fine hats that would later be sold? Sure, those large straw and...
D09-213	HUGGING THE ARM! The handsome boy was snuggled into the corner of a padded fancy couch and cinched into place by that broad black belt with an enormous metallic buckle. His maker tightened it perfectly since the child doesn't seem overly...
D09-221	CONTRAST! What was his rush to have this holographic sixth plate that has a new archival seal taken? The fellow must have leaped into his clothes and dashed to the nearest extremely competent daguerreian and sat while his visage was...
D09-223	QUARTER PLATE CASE! Maybe the woman couldn't afford the larger size and settled for a sealed sixth plate. Does it really matter? Her friendly eyes and marvelous mouth are so pleasing that I barely noticed that magnificent dress she wore,...
D09-224	LOCKS OF HER HAIR . . . have been perfectly preserved in the sixth sized case. They were woven into a tiny wreath and held together with a robin's egg blue ribbon. The perky gal wore many piece of golden jewelry and unfortunately, at one...
D09-225	AMAZING PAIR! Who was this young man? He visited a daguerreotypist that was a highly skilled technician. His maker had acquired an impressive painted scenic background that he used for selected clients when he made masterful sixth...
D09-9	"HOME SWEET HOME . . . Christian Thomas my only brother, Fannie Frederick City Maryland 'My darling brother'" was all written in pencil on the black bottom paper of a late (after 1854) wooden and paper case that was used for both sixth...
D10-A	LET ME SAY . . . That only a very sophisticated buyer of fine daguerreotypes would probably comment favorably when their posed together quarter size leather case is opened. Usually I witness similar images examined for a millisecond then...
D10-C	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...
D10-D	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...
D10-I	"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...
EEW-159	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...
EEW-160	THREE . . . Kids were almost too crowded for their vertical retaped and rapidly cleaned sixth size remembrance. The boldness of the older boy was certainly challenged by his demonstrative sister who stood unafraid and self-confident next...
EEW-161	ALONE IN PINK! Please disregard the meteor shower of very faint brown streaks on the silver (cause unknown) and the haziness in the lower corners because of excess moisture on the surface during development and concentrate on the little...
EEW-165	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...