Salon Archive

WITH THE GIRLS! I wonder which woman initiated this lovely gathered group? I will not attempt to decipher any potential relationships amongst the posers in their resealed sixth plate. The woman in the center served as an anchor for the...
EXPERIMENTAL ILLUMINATION ...in 1846 should tell us something about the courage and artistic insight of this unknown virtuoso. The sixth plate portrait shows a handsome, young father cuddling his little girl close to him in a very...
IN THE ALLEY! The gent handling this magnificent animal knew exactly how to manage his grip to insure that the archivally taped half plate daguerreotype would present to us such a powerful and impressive view. The horse was relative...
DIMPLED DROP! There might be many reasons for the cloth hanging behind the couple not to have been perfectly smooth while a sixth plate with new seals was taken. Usually I would suggest the daguerreian was a small town or an itinerant. I...
AT TIMES . . . Certain resealed sixth plate daguerreotypes and/or the subjects cause me to pause and think about what I might write. Should I mention the undulating cloth behind the wary gent, whom I believe was seated sideways on a small...
AN ATTRACTIVE GIRL . . . was placed in a position to comfortably pose with her contented dog (whose muzzle was soft not from movement but a foreshortened depth of field) when they sat for their archivally taped sixth plate. The human...
UNDERNEATH . . . His likeness kept in the remaining half of a late leather case was written "taken in summer of 1854. Cut down Sept 24 1860." This name "P.C. Barker or Banker" also was notated on a scrap of paper. Had the second date been...
A SWEET REPOSE! His pale blue eyes were focused well beyond the plane of the daguerreian's sixth plate camera; somewhere inside the spacious studio he visited to arrange for this ethereal portrait to have been taken. Maybe his vision...
PINNED TO THE PAD . . . Is a piece of paper (I love alliteration) that identifies the pretty, youthful lad as "William Brishee". His mid-1840s daguerreotypist asked William to sit comfortably on a small wooden chair with his narrow well-cl...
WITH A FLOURISH! Check out the second scan that shows the penmanship done in brown ink on the paper underneath master Gilbert Hawkes who was apparently taken on July 4th 1848 in Cincinnati Ohio. The youngster was seated with his slender...
BLUE UFOs. A wide window on the left side of the camera provided illumination for the lad's freshly taped sixth plate portrait. A larger light colored reflector was erected opposite the window so any shadows on the subject would be less...
REMEMBER READERS . . . I have always said that it is extremely difficult to accurately reproduce any daguerreotype that has the essence of brilliance associated with the making of the image. Casey has exposed six whole plate...
TRIPTYCH! Where's the snow you southerners might ask, since Casey clearly marked his three-panel view of downtown Portland, Maine as taken on Dec. 11, 2010? Well let me tell you this. Since the city is situated on the Atlantic Ocean,...
AND THE OTHER DAG . . . Presented the man wearing that wonderful chapeau he displayed vertically as it rested on the top of his thigh. Strange you are thinking right? Myself also. The gentleman, whose resealed sixth plate has deep buff...
NOT THE SAME. The girl with the pensive gaze held a book-style wooden and leather case when she posed in an attractive room setting tableau. Her archivally sealed sixth plate is kept in a fine mother of pearl case that was repaired. If...
WHAT WAS THE REASON? Was he 16 or 18 years old? I am guessing that his proud parents thought it was time for a formal portrait done in sixth size with a new archival seal. That floral printed vest and the lad's neatly knotted blue...
FAR AWAY. Whatever those pleasant thoughts she was thinking, while remaining hidden from us, they certainly caused the young woman to appear pleasant enough as she cast her gaze beyond the space where she sat while her retaped ninth plate...
COULDN'T GET TIGHTER! The well-proportioned young gal certainly filled out her close fitting dress when she sat for a retaped (by another hand) ninth plate image held in a leather case with a professionally repaired spine. Her unwavering...
"THIS IS LOUISA DUNNINGS"! And so much more was written on orange paper lining the bottom of her elegant Japanned sixth plate case inlaid on the cover with silver filigree and small pieces of mother of pearl. The neatly penned...
SO SMALL! Years ago a previous owner of this remarkable handsome chap decided to place the horizontal ninth sized daguerreotype underneath a sixth plate mat that had a tiny oval opening slightly larger than my thumb! Aside from a couple...
THE TINTED BLANKET SOCIETY. And I'm sure you are going to believe the rest of this caption about the sixth plate chums shown with hands on their companions' shoulders. The length of the fringe designated their ranks amongst fellow...
NOT CERTAIN. Casey and I both wondered if the serious youth who wore a wonderful hat into a daguerreian's studio might have turned his head away from the lens to diminish what appears to be an elongated scar on his right cheek (the left...
IN A DOORWAY. A stunning resealed quarter plate early dag of two frightened brothers standing and holding hands. Looking past the remarkable intrusive tarnish as I examined the primitive portrait I realized that the wrinkled cloth behind...
BARE FOOT BABE. For the sake of settling an argument before it begins, I don't know the sex of the sixth plate child, who was placed in a small chair that has been covered with a bolt of loose fabric. Both the baby and the furniture...
CURIOUS LIGHT. I know what the first thing most of you readers want to know: "Is that adorable kid deceased or simply taking a nap in his mom's arms?" The marvelous sixth plate was sold to me as a post mortem, but upon very close...
THE WOMAN WAS A LADY . . . And she knew exactly what she desired in her archivally sealed sixth plate. What was running through the operator's mind when this gorgeous person walked into his large studio to first inquire and then hire him...
TAKEN AT HOME? Did dad invest in a daguerreotype outfit and decide to perfect his experiments by capturing two of the most difficult subjects imaginable: his adorable daughter or might it be his son, and the family mutt? Bright sunlight...
SAMUEL GILMAN BROWN . . . Graduated from Dartmouth College and was a professor there 1840-67. He was president of Hamilton College 1867-1881(my daughter Erin's college) and then was a professor at Bowdoin College in Maine. As you look...
WOMEN SEATED. You all must realize that sometimes, even I have a difficult time describing a rather mundane sixth plate. My first impression was, "what a neat mat!" Then I decided that neither gal knew what to do with her hands. ...
SO PLEASANT. No doubt about this pair of pretty women. They were dear sisters and were quite accustom to wealth and power. (The previous owner mentions on his archival seal that a piece of paper had "Jay family" written on it. It has...
AMPLE FIGURE. The sixth plate presents a dark eyed beauty that knew her way to the dinner table. No one had to persuade the poser to chow down. If only she would have allowed her tightly pulled back hair to flow loosely downwards, while...
HER DRESS IS UP! Luther Hale, the maker of this interesting sixth plate of a little girl standing in the middle of an ornately carved, over stuffed couch, made excellent technical and mechanical preparations for this portrait, but at the...
THREE GENERATIONS. Grandmother, on the right, and mother sat calmly while the older woman attempted to quiet her screaming grandchild. Her daughter, who is very attractive, posed with a gracefulness infrequently encountered in sixth sized...
HOLDING THEIR BREATH. The daguerreotypist must have told these brothers to hold their breath for their sixth plate image. Both wear the little frowns common to people in daguerreotypes who are trying to stay still. Also, the focus on...
WHY NOT PAINT IT ALL? I have often wondered why some daguerreotypist chose to only tint parts of their dags, while others color the entire piece? In most cases it was up to the customer and what they wanted. Why would someone have a...
THE LEAN. Or maybe, "the tilt" might be more appropriate. Whatever one's pleasure is to describe the young woman as she sat stoically for her retaped sixth plate. While her raven tresses caressed her shoulders, the gal placed her hand...
SHEETS OF MELODY. If you turn their quarter plate to a negative angle, musical notes are seen on the folded paper that the young gal on the left is grasping. Her companion's pieces are more difficult to read. Could they have been...
A BIG BREATH! Two gold rings were colored on the fellow's thick fingers and some red rouge was daubed on his super puffed cheeks after the sitter sat for his unusual resealed sixth plate likeness. Have you EVER seen anyone holding his...
WITH A CYANOTYPE! "Rev. Carlton Hurd, died in 1855" is the information that came with this superlative sixth plate likeness showing the good preacher almost in profile. He was a rugged New England man of the cloth for sure. If...
THE STRETCH! A balding man sat close to a plain piece of fabric that was probably tacked onto a wall. He jacked his left arm towards a cloth-covered table and rested it there. As if to steady himself the eager sitter held onto his...
A LADY. Her delicately picked brooch, with a ruby red center, radiates like a shining star, nestled there at the crossing of her lace ribbons. The woman had a sturdy frame that was emphasized underneath her simple but elegant dress. She...
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...
AMELIA OF HYDE PARK. A stunning girl about 14 with a fantastic attitude and an awareness rarely displayed by any subject in a retaped sixth plate posed with such panache and was hand colored with so much realism that the next owner will...
I BELIEVE THE BOY . . . thought that he was totally outclassed by his drop dead gorgeous sibling who sat so quietly while their resealed sixth plate was perfectly executed. Not willing to completely give into her, the lad placed his hand...
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL. The intact black leather case with a familiar floral theme on the cover and a plain reverse, the understated elegant paper mat, the large size (an archivally taped half plate) and the skillfully structured pyramidal...
C. H. STOKES IN TRENTON . . . took the plump woman's resealed sixth plate with aplomb! Stokes directed his client to sit on an invisible chair and place one thick arm on his blue tinted tablecloth. She kept her gloves on her heavy hands...
"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...
THE BEST CHIN WHISKERS. My first question is: "Were they his hair?" I see his low riding beard, yet some frisky horse's hair (mane) and a pot of glue could have achieved the same effect, yes? The gentleman appears much too dapper...
HOLD YOUR THUMB . . . over mother while admiring the tiny cherub who wore a brightly tinted red necklace while their exceptional resealed sixth sized portrait was executed by an accomplished daguerreian and you just might be favorably...
WHO WAS SHE? And what medium was originally used by the artist, Emile Lassalle, a lithographer and painter of genre scenes? He was born 1813 in Bordeaux France and died in Paris 1871. (I have made a close up scan of his signature and...
BROADBENT WAS A GENIUS! Should I simply say ENJOY the children in their splendiferous half plate daguerreotype that has been archivally preserved and kept in a plain lovely leather pushbutton case? I can unequivocally state that on the...
PAINTED THREESOME! Startled children! The brother was seated in a kid's high chair obscured with a bolt of fabric. His equally surprised sisters flanked him. The older girl entwined her arm with his while the younger cherub stood...
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...
THE TINY EQUESTRIAN! Sometimes I am concerned that I can't adequately write accurately enough to tell all you readers just how wonderful an archivally taped sixth plate actually is. His father, who had commissioned a daguerreotypist to...
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...
HE WAS . . . Too large a boy to be seated on that miniscule little chair that was partially covered with a dark blanket. It is a simple equation. Observe his very edgy expression and realize how uncomfortable he was. I would wager that...
COMFORTABLE! As the light streamed into the room from the window, with part of the molding visible on the right side of this magnificent archivally taped quarter plate, someone's beautiful dog reclined totally relaxed while watching the...
PERFECT CHILDREN! Should I really attempt to embellish this perfect, archivally restored quarter plate masterpiece? Why not? The manner of their inspired pose with the chair in the background out of focus created almost a visual 3-D...
WILLIAMSON MAGIC! As I have lamented in the past, making even an adequate scan of ninth plate oval likenesses that should be considered the epitome of artistic and technical daguerreian excellence is virtually impossible. Such is the...
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...
GOOD HEALTH. Her chubby grandchild did his best to fidget while their sixth plate dag was taken, but granny was more than capable off keeping him calm just long enough while the maker used his skills to the best advantages. Their retaped...
"MISS ELLEN . . . Selina Bacon mother of John Lewis Fisk taken probably about 1850" was all written on a scrap of paper that is included with the complete leather case. Inside, an ornately embossed plush red velvet pad (that I have never...
MORDACAI LEWIS. According to the information written recently on an envelope Mr. Lewis of Chadd's Ford in Chester County PA was the proprietor of a mill on the site of the Brandywine Museum. The older gent was immortalized on a resealed...
MANE OF WHITE. Tight lipped and narrow eyes might indicate that the operator had quoted his elderly subject the price of this archivally taped sixth plate just before the lens cap was removed! Did the man begin to swoon, catching himself...
"Hayes NY" . . . Was inscribed in the lower right corner on the silver of the attractive lady's fine sixth plate dag that has been resealed by another owner. She was identified as Ann Eliza Rogers, written on a scrap of paper. When Hayes...
ARCHITECTURAL SPLENDOR! Here is an amazing monumental triumph on a palette of silver! The archivally resealed half plate was taken by a man who understood the elements of angles and camera position to make the edifice look correct,...
WILLIAMSON MAGIC! As you loyal readers all know, when asked to list my all-time favorite daguerreian operators, I have suggested that Charles Williamson and his brother Edward were preeminent in their ability to produce a dazzling dark...
THEIR RELATIONSHIP . . . Was either an older husband with his younger wife or a father and daughter in a newly sealed sixth size effort. I'll take the latter scenario because the gal is holding a mother of pearl case in her hand that...
A BUYER'S WISH! Could a tiny girl wearing a marvelous dress that changes hues and contrast while the sixth plate is rotated be any more coquettish? Seen originally through filthy glass in less than perfect viewing light, which is how Erin,...
CROSSED HER ANKLES. An unbelievable oval of a little girl standing next to a cloth draped table. The self-assured child transferred her upper body mass to her arm that rested on the furniture, while balancing herself on one slender leg...
EXCHANGING PLEASANTRIES. Obviously the daguerreotypist knew that this friendly lass had great potential and I'm certain he treated her with kindness and respect. Both were rewarded with one of those special archivally sealed sixth plate...
PROBABLY 1858. Or maybe the woman had her elegant archivally sealed sixth plate figure taken even later. The very fancy, thin, brass oval mat was imprinted thusly on the back: "SCOVILL MFG. Co. Superior Waterbury CONN No. 820". The...
CONTEMPLATING LIFE. The richest tonality possible in a daguerreotype is the overriding impression I have of this superbly posed young woman, seated in an unseen chair. Her left elbow is placed upon a small table and she has tilted her...
HIS WERE DROOPING! I always wonder which came first, the recalcitrant child whose hands just wouldn't remain motionless while he reluctantly posed for his archivally sealed sixth plate or those sad sack posies handed to him by a desperate...
WALKIN' AWAY! This little tyke, another charming childhood sixth plate by Rufus Anson, just wouldn't stand still in front of the camera. Even his/her mother, whose dark dress is very evident, couldn't convince the kid to remain unmoving....
"COLLINS . . . ARTIST, WESTFIELD" was printed in gold on that black label attached to the double elliptical brass mat in the right corner of the couple's fine resealed quarter plate. At the end of the 1840s into the beginning of the 50s...
PINK!!!!! "Presented to S.J. Bondervant by W.H. Peeples November 28 1858" was written in the bottom of the handsome little boy's mother of pearl and Japanned Black wooden and paper case. Two of the largest pieces of the M-O-P are...
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 the 1845 regulation (which was implemented in 1846) that Lieutenants wear an epaulette on...
MOTHER'S ANGEL! Specks in the brilliantly polished silver are visible in the upper right corner and a few mat scrapes in the patina are the only meaningless flaws in what I would describe as a pristine archivally taped quarter plate...
THAT WAS . . . How his subject sat on an invisible chair (or else he was keen at elevating) and the maker thought, "Well why not?" Starting at the fellow's prominent knee we see his clasped hands, a white shirt front flanked on all sides...
HER RED RIBBON! Nearly symmetrical composition on a brilliantly buffed, glowing silver sixth plate defines the parameters that make the little girl's portrait a fantastic exercise in daguerreian excellence. Let me state first that the...
FLAWLESS BLONDE! A young boy immaculately dressed and perfectly groomed was seated on a man sized painted wooden chair. One arm was propped at an angle on a white tablecloth with a blue tinted pattern. He held a book in both his hands...
NOT WORN. Although the plastic case has a common theme, the chocolate brown color and the pristine pressed purple pad inside certainly provide a bonus if you consider adding this young mother and her son to your collection of sixth sized...
"Wm. C. NORTH . . . Cleveland" was stamped in the corner of a plain quarter plate size scalloped brass mat and was placed on the retaped image of the older couple. The obvious hot spot on the gent's head was caused when North's...
EXCELLENCE ON SILVER. Surely the life long partners recorded in their resealed quarter size masterpiece couldn't have expected such brilliance from their maker upon initially entering his domain, correct? They might have been shown a...
YOU CALL THAT A BEARD? A male hairy fashion statement slithered along his lower jaw line presupposing an eye-catching trend adopted by athletes and their fans in the beginning of the 21st century. Was this mild mannered chap a time...
HER TRUE IDENTITY! This gorgeous woman is a sixth plate over matted to larger than quarter plate size. The reverse is resilvered. The plate holder mark identically matched Southworth & Hawes examples. I was standing next to Casey when he...
WHEN HE SPOKE . . . Moses came down from the mountaintop! The hallmark on the preacher's medium weight sixth plate with flat sides and clipped corners is L.B.B. & Co 40 (circa 1842-44). The wide opening brass mat was rarely used after...
A LESSON LEARNED! An eager young gentleman sat watching his snowy maned mentor while he rested an open book on his knee. The men both touched the tome that certainly played a part in their relationship. The daguerreotypist was aware of...
SQUINTING! Very bright rays of sunshine blasted the young gentleman from the right side of the room. Since his mom wouldn't permit him to wear sunglasses for the formal archivally taped sixth plate, he decided that by narrowing his eyes,...
CARESSED BY FOG! Now THAT would have been an even more remarkable triumph on silver if the atmospheric conditions created a softly flowing hazy cloud in the studio, while the daguerreotypist manipulated his illumination from directly...
THE DAGUERREIAN . . . Didn't take any chances, so he thought, in attempting to keep the squirming little lad wearing his clown costume (just kidding I'm sure mother thought it was an adorable outfit) by not only using an iron head clamp on...
MY BEST EFFORT. Oh woe is me, I just can't come close to providing a scan for all you readers that closely approximates the sixth plate masterpiece made in the studio of Charles Williamson, Brooklyn, NY. All of you know how I feel...
THE OPEN BOOK! Would this tome have been brought to a daguerreian's studio by his pensive subject to include in her archivally taped sixth plate formal portrait? The placement of her hand on the page was a masterful compositional touch of...
CHURCHILL SIGNED! Once you know where to look in the pair of sixth plate portraits that are retaped, it is easy to find the daguerreotypist's name carefully inscribed along the bottom of the small book placed with a larger tome on top of...
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...
I GIVE UP! I have known for many years that it is impossible to photograph or scan the best 20% of all the daguerreotypes created with any hope of making an accurate reproduction, so you will have to trust my description as I tell you...
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...
WHO WAS SHE? The day I purchased her stunning resealed ninth plate oval likeness both the seller and I KNEW that the woman must have been a mover and shaker in the mid-19th century! For two months the superbly executed profile was in a...
EXTRA PIGMENTS. I have been asked numerous times if patrons who posed for their archivally sealed sixth plates had to pay extra coins to have such lavish applied colors done on the finished product. Honestly, I don't ever recall reading...
"HILL"! Who was master Hill I asked myself while I watched him seated in that tiny chair holding some sort of thick pamphlet. If only the daguerreian's focus had been on the kid's eyes the depth of field might have permitted me to read...
WHERE'S THE FOCUS? Why, on the fabric hung behind the woman of course. The amateur daguerreian didn't want the lady sitting and resting one arm on a table next to tinted flowers any longer than necessary so he pre-focused the lens not...
PLEASINGLY PRETTY! Where might a retaped sixth plate of the young mother alone be kept? Isn't she lovely within the ovals of patina that surround her and that tough little son of hers? I like the mom's very amiable expression that...
FOREVER FRIENDS! A smiling woman leaned over her serious friend and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder while they posed together for their awesome quarter plate likeness. Each subject wore one glove, of contrasting shades on the opposite...
MR. AND MRS. MILLER. If you look closely at the bottom of Henry's oval mat, you will see the daguerreotypist's name D. B. Johnson triple stamped in the brass. John Craig notes that Johnson practiced his trade with great success in Utica...
ADDED VALUE. I wonder if the daguerreian knew ahead of the lad's posed sixth plate portrait that the results (of the child's appearance) would be rather strange and that to sell the dag, he would have to paint that table cloth which might...
MASONIC SYMBOL! First the gent scrutinized the operator, then he locked his hands across his abdomen and clamped down on his jaws while lowering his steely stare aiming his eyes past the camera. I hope no one was directly in contact with...
SHE WASN'T ALONE! Looks like the couch was effectively used to fill space in the kid's resealed sixth plate while I believe that shadow on the left was part of the child's mother's dress. You might notice that the tiny tot's face is...
EARLY ENOUGH! Probably the most asked question I receive about dating very early dags is what year is my cut-off for the experimental period. I usually say the end of 1842 but I own several examples from 1843 that are so instructive and...
EVIDENCE OF EXPERTISE. I ask of you loyal readers, how much more technically perfect could an archivally prepared quarter plate daguerreotype have been produced in 1850? Take one intense and stunningly handsome gentleman to the unknown...
AN IMPORTANT COMPANION. Absolutely glorious and inspiring eyes captivated me when I first removed the separated cover from the gentleman's worn quarter size leather case. Even through badly distressed glass, the man's sparkling gaze...
UNUSUAL. Could two little brothers, the older one standing on the left and the smaller tyke seated in a wooden chair on the right, be cuter in a retaped sixth plate? Their operator was first rate, obtaining advanced tonality and contrast...
ALL PINKED OUT! I think the fellow was so proud of that picked and painted pinky ring that he must have assumed that rather aggressive slightly wild-eyed pose for his archivally redone sixth plate to attract equal attention to himself! ...
CANVAS TO SILVER . . . And there was absolutely nothing lost in the original drawing that an extremely adept operator copied on to his sixth plate that had additional silver on both sides. The resealed image is a masterpiece, taken circa...
HER THICK BOOK! Ideally, in an alternative dag world, every sixth plate that I purchase would have the perfect untouched condition seen in the teenager's retaped likeness. Once the original seals were loosened and the moisture-laden...
HOOP, STICK & HAT! The daguerreotypist who either was an itinerant or worked outside the urban areas of the US about 1848-50, and that was most everywhere else in our great nation, realized that if the kid wore that wonder hat he might...
"TWO LIKENESSES AT ONCE"! That was the lure on the advertising card placed behind the boy's ninth plate daguerreotype that has a new seal. James & CO. situated at the corner of Winter and Washington Sts. used a "DOUBLE CAMERA" and further...
HER HEALTHY CHILDREN. Sixth plate daguerreotypes of deceased children seem to be a popular subject in the resealed dag marketplace once again, but make no mistake here. Mom is holding her healthy sleeping son while her older boy sat next...
FRANZ MELCHERS . . . Was born in the grand Duchy of Oldenburg Germany Jan. 9 1826 and graduated at Bremerhaven in 1841. He arrived in Charleston SC April 1846. (His obituary says 1843 and I have not been able to determine which date is...
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...
WHEN SHE ENTERED . . . a room, I would wager that all conversations were halted and the collective sets of eyes, both men's and women's, appraised her appearance, admiring her exquisiteness and waited for her to speak. We are only...
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...
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...
VICTORIAN FURNITURE! Or a sofa for two might be a more accurate description of the padded piece of furniture the perfectly erect teenaged lass sat on while a daguerreian crafted this resealed sixth plate. He bathed his client from above...
THE PLACEMENT . . . Of her crossed hands near that very sassy belt around her waist was done purposely so the youthful bride could display a large wedding ring! This girl did not have a waspish waist. She was large boned and had ample...
STANDING BY A COLUMN. Behind the lovely lad two legs of a tripod that held a head clamp are visible. The device was used to support a person's head and keep it stationary during the exposure. The blue-eyed boy rested his elbow on that...
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...
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,...
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...
A TRANSFER . . . Of hairs might have been in order if the gent taken on a resilvered half plate was a very vain person. Having a receding line of hair on his head and that magnificent wiry beard . . .! Actually the likeness is so strong...
VULNERABLE! Doesn't that appear to be the shadow of the precocious lad's mom on the left side of his splendid retaped sixth plate that was taken in the studio of Tyler & Co. when that firm was operating in Boston, circa 1854 or in...
HELEN OF TROY! Or might the woman be Imogen the virtuous wife of the exiled Posthumus Leonatus? A beautiful resealed quarter plate rendering of a mythological figure shown holding a letter from Leonatus. Stamped in the lower left corner...
FLOATING ON BLACK. An older man was copied onto a sixth plate from a small oval that would have been placed most likely in a piece of woman's jewelry. The gent's salt and pepper hair flew out from his skull. Looking closing under his...
TINY OVAL. The daguerreian used a full size retaped sixth plate to reproduce a painting onto his own silver canvas. Then he found a brass mat with a small opening to suitably frame the piece. I have looked at that image several times...
A TASSEL . . . Was lying on a tinted table cloth at the end of a long braided cord that was tied off on the shoulder of a robe partially covering the subject's shoulders over his very expensive suit of clothes. The sharply focused man...
AN OLDER MAN. Sure he might have been the proud father or even a grandfather responsible for controlling that baby's movements while they were posed for a resealed sixth plate, making an effort to keep the child quiet and calm. The man...
HE WAS SURROUNDED . . . By a small wooden Ogee frame topped off by an enormous period brass hook screwed into the wood. I don't believe the young gentleman's sixth plate dag has ever been removed from the object. His neatly combed hair...
TAKING MONEY! A rather pompous chap with a calculating gaze dressed up and was seated with his large top hat resting on its crown next to his arm on that table. Could he have been a panhandler in disguise, carefully placing that possible...
TOGETHER! He and she were most probably married; raising children and lived happily ever after their pair of sixth plates that another person archivally taped were taken circa 1846 in a studio run by an extremely competent technician. ...
F.B. UNDERWOOD 1849 . . . was inscribed horizontally in flowery penmanship on the gal's faded red silk pad inside the complete leather case. The name might indicate the sitter was Miss Underwood or that could have been her quarter plate...
WHAT A BACK DROP! I just can't help myself! Did the woman SEE that painting behind her when she walked into the operating room before she sat for her redone sixth plate dag? Unless she was blind, and with piercing eyes like her dark...
"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...
SURLY SUBJECT. A superbly crafted resealed sixth size image presenting a sneering, serious young man who wore a dark hat pushed back over his long curly hair. He rested his large beefy left hand on the edge of a table and peered...
I THOUGHT . . . One thing when I purchased the child's sixth plate that has a new seal, then re-evaluated my thinking after the dirty glass had been removed. There are a few less green dots, from copper protruding through the silver than...
WAS EYE COLOR . . . Really so important to this youthful swain that he asked the daguerreotypist to delicately tint his left eye blue and the right eye light brown? I think in 25 years of collecting retaped sixth plates, I have only seen...
A CLIENT NEVER KNEW . . . What the results would be when they hired Rufus Anson or one of his operators to make a retaped sixth plate in the studio located at 589 Broadway in NYC. The shop was extremely prolific and made dags well into...
GRACEFUL ENCOUNTER! The illumination is rather interesting in the young lady's archivally taped sixth plate portrait. Light streamed into the small space from the left side and cast her shadow on the opposite side of the hung cloth drop....
AT CERTAIN TIMES . . . I want to fly back in my time machine to break people's wrists. What possibly could have compelled someone to harshly clean this scholarly gentleman? The day his poorly sealed (note the dust flecks that are doubled)...
THE . . .Undulating curves in the carved wooden furniture gently caressed the back of the starry-eyed miss who sat motionless while a sixth size likeness was taken about 1850. Her raven tresses were pulled away from her pale face and...
TELLTALE EARRING. The more I examine the pleasing sixth plate of the attractive young woman, the more I wonder why Rufus Anson, the operator, had the dear girl place her hand to her cheek with the long earring covering one of her fingers?...
SURPRISED! Rarely does a daguerreotype or even an item from the dag era take me completely by surprise. I saw this older woman nestled in a locked case amongst other pieces of 19th century jewelry and thought I would have a look. The...
MOM'S GENES! Both her daughters had the same lovely almost seductively bright eyes although the older sister's were darker and slightly mysterious. I knew when I purchased the retaped (by another hand) sixth sized portrait that the silver...
THAT'S A CASE . . . The young woman held in one hand while she casually let the other one fall down over the edge of that cloth covered table. Her daguerreotypist had basic fundamentals mastered but in this instance the exposure was to...
AN OPERATOR KNEW . . . How to daguerreotype this trio with a perfection that he practiced on a routine basis, probably after months of trials and errors. Watching Casey make dags has given me so much knowledge about the day-to-day...
WAS SHE . . . As attractive in life as her likeness was reproduced on a quarter sized dag copied from a drawn portrait? The resealed piece could have been a composite, produced using more than one person as a model. Although, this face...
THE CHAIR . . . Received more attention after the exposure was made then the cunning little lass. Gold was delicately painted on the edging and the design on the wood while the dainty miss remained relatively monochromatic. Light...
ANNA EMERSON BOWDITCH. A piece of paper kept in the lovely intact sixth plate case under the dag tells us that she was "Anna Emerson Bowditch about 10 years old taken at Sheldon (VT) about 1850." It also mentions on the reverse of the...
"HOME IN THE COUNTRY". One of the great horizontal sixth sized thermoplastic cases, #120 in Krainik with the rare Kinsley and Parker external hinge in almost mint condition with only a teeny crack around the latch pin on the cover. Inside...
FINGERS OF FOLDS! Who amongst all of you readers enjoys solving riddles or visual puzzles? Take two country folks with adequate wealth and nice clothes to not only dress for the daguerreian but also afford his price for this half plate...
DON'T LET GO! That certainly was the admonishment the daguerreian gave to the ample woman who sat overflowing a small chair while tightly holding her precocious little girl. Both mom and daughter stared into the man's lens while the sixth...
IT'S ALIVE! I guess the master carver didn't choose a piece of "dead wood" when he created the cane the elderly gent held for his one sixth dag that has a new archival seal. Did that walking prop cause the fellow's hand to move while...
WHAT WASN'T USED . . . Tells the entire tale! Look closely between the brother (he would be on the left) and his sister. See that piece of curved iron with the adjustment screw above the back of the chair. Were these adorable children...
AN OBVIOUS SMILE! And rich tonality along with great condition and nice reflected depth should please the next owner of this fine sixth sized rendering that has a new seal. I don't recognize the scrollwork on the back of the chair or the...
"COOLEY SPRINGFIELD" . . . Was stamped across the bottom of the double elliptical brass mat that contains this adorable child seated in the operator's very distinctive chair. Otis did an excellent job reproducing the dark skinned kid's...
AN ATTEMPTED SMILE. Maybe her mouth wasn't perfectly formed into a ray of beaming sunshine but the kid's awesome eyes with large reflections certainly lit up the room. The precocious little girl sat in a tiny chair placed on an unseen...
WONDERFUL AD CARD! Only the bottom of a common leather case contains the little girl frozen in a moment of uncertainty on a tinted silver ninth size surface, but underneath is a common advertisement card (see second scan). There are...
AT MOM'S BREAST! Sheer contentment was the baby's mindset while nursing for the daguerreotypist. The woman was probably wondering how her husband convinced her to be taken in sixth plate size with a new archival seal while feeding their...
FANCY HAT. Woe is the lad that was forced to wear a chapeau with such frippery as seen in this sixth plate with a new seal. The little lad probably blinked during the exposure, as children were prone to do. Because the child was seated...
JOHN TRUMBULL! Do you know how MANY gents by the same name I discovered when I did a search to see if I could find this specific JT taken by Pollock of Baltimore in a splendid retaped quarter size likeness? Too many to tell you about. I...
NOT QUITE CENTERED. The operator slightly misjudged the position of his client when the retaped quarter plate was taken. Although the oval brass mat is forgiving the fellow still is low and left inside the frame. His flesh tones are...
NATURAL VIGNETTING. There was Henry, Oscar and even Benjamin who might have taken the lady in motion while she sat all aflutter for a retaped (using the original slightly domed sixth size glass) in the Boston Studio of Mr. Higgins. His...
HER RANK . . . Was worn on her sleeves while she posed for this sixth size nicely tinted likeness. Lines, lines everywhere there were lines sewn into the fabric to the woman's dress. And for an unknown reason, they were transferred onto...
A REMINDER. That faint mark on the man's rouged cheek was part of his flesh. Only he and his friends could have known what occurred to create the scar. He wasn't shy about hiding it either, since he was posed for an archivally taped...
WITH FEATHERS. A cunning little lass identified as Annie C. Damon peeked out from under her lavish bonnet showing us an expression that was both demure and questioning. Annie was definitely bundled up for winter while she sat with her...
"GREAT UNCLE . . . John Pyatt" As you all will notice, there are buff marks visible on this retaped sixth plate. In fact, the operator was uncertain about the exact way to prepare the silver. He used bowed strokes horizontally across Mr....
ALL THE WAY OVER. I certainly jumped at the opportunity to own this erudite scholarly subject taken in three-quarter angle repose with a magnificent comb over! His intense concentration also impressed me! The tonality is extremely rich...
ELDERLY IN BROOKLYN! When Charles H. Williamson had his brass mats impressed with his name there was no mistaking that either he or his brother Edward were responsible for the portrait. Stylistically speaking Williamson attained a...
WHIPPLE'S CHILD! Harriet P. Bond, an adorable little tyke somehow managed to stand motionless, without her head moving even while she shrugged one shoulder that created a ghostly effect on her right side. Because Harriet's finished...
IF ONLY JOHN KNEW! When I initially removed the chubby gal, who had been placed on a table with her feet resting on the seat of a wooden chair, I noted very old if not original paper seals and "Wm. W. Sullivan" stamped in ink multiple...
DARKENED EYES! If this serious boy didn't apply eye makeup before visiting a daguerreotypist about 1845 to have this unusual sixth plate portrait taken, then what possibly could have created those strange shadows? Looking closer, I think...
"CONLEY GEORGE . . . Ben R. George Uncle (Ireland)" was written on a yellow slip of paper that comes along with this intrepid citizen who sat circa 1849-50 for his powerful retaped quarter plate portrait. While he was certainly born in...
THIS IS . . . "Aunt Mary Jane George sister of Ben R. George" was inked onto a yellow sheet of lined legal style paper and slipped underneath her archivally taped sixth plate likeness. The daguerreotypist "signed" the piece without...
TWO WERE DROOPING! And I'm referring to the lad's jacket buttons. And maybe a third one near the arm of his tightly tailored sleeve. Twas the fashion in the early 1840s, although the boy didn't sit for his likeness until 1846 most likely....
SITTING LOW. I thought he was a teenager, and then I studied the features and lines on his distinctive face. This guy had been around the block a few times as an adult before hiring a man to make his retaped sixth plate that has nice...
CATCHING BUTTERFLIES! That is the theme of the child's ninth plate plastic case. There are teeny chips on several of the exteriors corners and the brown velvet pad inside is worn. The die impressions are both crisp and clear on the...
HER RED DRESS. It is uncertain to me if the daguerreotypist pre- focused the plane of the plate on the chair's knob on the right side, since that was the easiest object to see inside his camera, or did he attempt to actually create the...
IF HE WERE YOUR SON . . . Would you have accepted this awesome childhood portrait that shows the tiny boy nearly falling out of his off the shoulder and chest dress? Somehow the remarkable sixth plate with a fresh surface and recent...
CHANDLER FAMILY! Sarah from Boxborough and Leonard Chandler of Princeton (both in Massachusetts) were married Oct. 21, 1842. He was a 63-year-old farmer in the 1880 census while Sarah was taking care of their Princeton home. Because I...
MAGNIFICENT IN COLOR! Yes, my reproduction accurately displays one of the finest hand colored half plate daguerreotypes that I have purchased in years, but until the next collector opens the early, circa 1845 leather case with a...
ARTIFICIAL SNOW! Sure, that's what all those white dots are! And YOU thought they must be mold spiders! I mean really, the kid was dressed for winter and it was so cold in the studio while he stood for his sixth plate that his pants...
AND THE REASON WAS? Decorative drapery suspended from above might have been placed there as an artistic addition to the young man's resealed sixth plate image. Or . . . the space might have been rather cramped and that was the shade...
WOW . . . I wonder why mommy is holding on to me so tightly and what is that man doing next to that big wooden box with the shiny thing on the front. Could those thoughts have been part of the amazed little lad's thought process as he sat...
A NAUTICAL THEME! This resealed ninth plate will add eye appeal in anyone's collection. Is this lad really old enough to have been a sailor? His maker created a perfect palette to receive the youngster's image. Then he embellished...
FUNKY TINTING! Is there ANY question about the relationship of mother and daughter sitting together for a brightly colored wonderfully human sixth plate portrait that was resealed by another person? Not only did the little girl mimic mom...
UNSETTLED BROTHERS. Check out the clever arrangement the unidentified daguerreotypist used to place these boys high enough so he wasn't required to get on his hands and knees to operate the camera. Underneath the oldest lad he used a...
PROTECTED BY WHITE! The woman wore a frilly white cap, a broad lace collar on her dark dress and a dainty brooch when she visited a daguerreotypist to order this unsealed sixth plate portrait. He faithfully recorded her on silver that has...
THE GLOVED HAND. (For further information about James McClees, whose imprint is stamped on the left side of the mat, please read John Craig's informative description on ...
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...
NATURALLY! Who else but the magnificent makers in Boston could possibly have conjured up the gorgeous sixth plate, which is archivally sealed, showing a lovely, doting mother holding her plump child? Okay, there were other operators...
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...
LOOSE CORN ROWS! The hot irons must have been baking for hours in anticipation for the preparation that was associated with the style that the woman achieved in her resealed sixth plate triumph. Her bold deliciously decorated dress,...
PLEASING PASTELS! The pleasant gal certainly was relaxed posing for her sixth plate portrait that has a new seal. She saw the lens and probably her maker as he stood near his camera during the exposure. Her lips were inviting and...
PRIM POLLY OF PERRY. Once again, an itinerant daguerreotypist stopped long enough in Perry, Ohio, about 1851, to record on sixth plates, various people from the immediate area. One of them was Miss Polly Young. The unknown shooter hung...
PLUMBE IN THE CORNER. The impressive whole leather case with a horizontal lyre theme imprinted on the cover has a perfect label printed in black type on the bottom paper. It reads: "Manufactured at the Plumbe National Daguerrian Depot,...
INFESTATION! It isn't often on these august Salon pages that I present the opportunity for a collection to purchase a sixth plate daguerreotype with very old if not the original seals intact. I decided that the droll damsel (okay, I'm...
SOMETHING SPECIAL. I'm certain that all you advanced collectors of daguerreotypes have opened a sixth plate leather case and immediately grew silent as you studied the portrait inside. Well, I have had the luxury of peering upon this...
SPECTACULARLY SPATIAL. The tyke is firmly nested in a fabulous baby carriage that was placed on the daguerreotypist's distinctly pattered carpet, but alas, I don't recognize those alternating squares. It really doesn't matter because...
PSYCHEDELIC FLOOR COVERING! All of you reading this particular description that came of age in the 60's or early 70's SAW carpets like this example once or twice, right? However, you didn't observe one like it in a remarkable resealed...
WELL . . . Young lady, if you wouldn't mind leaning towards your mother just like that, I will be able to fit you into the frame I have in mind after I complete and freshly seal your sixth plate! Quite possibly that was the instruction...
A DIFFICULT GUESS! Her drawn in face reveals the toils of a life filled with hardships. However, was this woman REALLY as old as those hands appear to be? Without examining the bottom portion of the retaped sixth sized likeness I would...
IN ANOTHER VIEW . . . This resealed sixth plate vignette was certainly taken in the identical Boston studio as a ninth plate vignette where the sitter was identified as "Miss M.T. Perley". The resemblance is close but the lass looking...
TOO YOUNG? Either the very attractive lass is shown with her younger siblings or else she drank from "the fountain of youth" early and often. She is wearing two rings on her right hand. (Naturally it would have been her left hand since...
WHERE'S ME PARROT? His crusty face might have been permanently etched by the sun and salt spray while he drove his crews hard in search for the great whales that would have been caught, sliced, diced and boiled. The profits would have...
WRITTEN ON THE PAPER . . . In the chap's complete leather case was "Henry J. Hall"! Did young master Hall break the daguerreian's seals on his now newly retaped sixth sized impression and use a stylus to inscribe an "H" to the left of his...
LESS IMPORTANT! Although her parents specified to their maker that the young girl be included in this sealed sixth size likeness, the operator realized that he didn't have enough area inside his tight space to seat them three across so he...
PRIM AND PLEASANT. What is there that anyone could possibly not like about the young woman who sat so comfortably for a sixth plate dag around 1850? Her double wedding bands were on display so I suspect that she might have been recently...
THEY ARE BLUE! Without making magic in Photoshop I can't accurately produce the added tints to the gent's eyes or his straw toned hair after his retaped sixth plate was completed. The roughly applied rouge certainly is obvious enough! ...
A PLEATED SHIRT. His clear light hued eyes really sparkled underneath the white mantel of his hair and a fairer forehead that was shaded from the weather by a broad brimmed hat. The lower part of the gent's face was burned to a deep...
SOME WEREN'T PERFECT! Seated comfortably in front of a camera was no guarantee that the end results would be great. I am speculating that either the guy didn't know that his face should have been clear (he moved during the exposure of...
GO AHEAD . . . Ask yourselves WHY did he buy this resealed sixth plate? A dark, dreary Brimfield September day. Rain was threatening and the mud was sucking my winter boots deeper into the terra not firma as I held a stack of cased...
I KNOW THAT CHAIR. Samuel Carleton operated a studio in Portland Maine as early as 1845. When the man visited his gallery in the mid 1850s it was located at 80 Middle St. Although the sixth size brass mats are identical the reverse of...
OH, THERE IS THIS DAG! I have never specifically collected leather cases but I do note examples (this one has a repaired hinge) that have unique themes. I have reproduced the sixth plate cover. The reverse is plain. Inside is a plain...
NATIVE VERMONTER! The stonemason, ready to cleave a rock, most likely posed for his restored sixth plate portrait near his home. An old yellow label from "THE 1836 SHOP, Stowe Rd., Waterbury Ctr. VT" and the price of $5, which IS NOT MY...
WHATEVER! I know that in later years this adorable little guy, with a slight attitude showing in his resealed sixth plate, cringed at the outfit his mother made him wear for what might have been his initial capture on silver. No one was...
THE GAL . . . Hasn't been aided through time by those mold spiders on her eyebrow and in her hair. When she visited a daguerreotypist in the mid-1850s to have this vignetted quarter plate portrait made, she puffed up her hair (as was...
CURLY TOP! Could a young gal have sat more rigidly than this youthful poser while a retaped ninth plate was taken? The operator warned the child to remain motionless. The child's gaze wasn't of this earth, seeing past the camera,...
PATINA . . . Is hiding a portion of the little girl's hand and her pet kitty that she held when a resealed sixth plate in a worn full leather case was taken. I think the lady next to the lass was her mother, since she wore a wedding band...
EARLY COPY. I made scans of the entire plate without being covered by a wafer thin gold stamped hand cut sixth size paper mat. Then after restoration, I scanned the image again. The original dag was very impressive with great lighting...
A FOREIGN PYRAMID. Notice that the women are wearing all black, yet they certainly don't look like they were in mourning. Their expressions are almost jovial. The pass partout mat and lovely black wooden frame created a presentation that...
RATHER AWKWARD! Just looking at their hands held together causes me to cringe. I have even attempted to turn my wrist in the same manner that the gal on the right did while she and her friend posed for their newly sealed sixth size dag...
"AND THERE'S MORE . . . Where this came from gents!" While it might be impossible to ever know exactly what the contents in the cigar smoking entrepreneur's hand was when he prominently displayed it to the three fellows surrounding him,...
ONE IN THE SAME? A pair of young chaps were taken in similar poses but with totally different backgrounds. One was elaborately painted to resemble a lakeside scene taken from nature (with real drapery on the right side) while the second...
COMPLETE LABEL! Please observe the second scan that shows an intact Wm. Shew label when he was producing sixth plate leather cases and selling "Daguerreotype Materials" at 123 Washington St. in Boston. The older subject sat in front of a...
COME ON! That baby was definitely napping and not deceased during the exposure for the family's sealed horizontal quarter plate. In fact, mom was very pleased to have the child resting, since she would have been challenged to keep the...
A BRAWLER? Who would have thought that this beefy boy with the long flowing locks would have been involved in fisticuffs? Sure maybe that U-shaped scar on his cheek, almost hidden in the shadow, was a result of his horse nicking his...
BIRD ON A BRANCH. That was the decoration, probably embossed with gold leaf, on the book's cover given to the boy who was seated next to a table that displayed a larger tome on the tinted cloth! It is obvious that the lad was not overly...
WASHED AND PRESSED! No other mother could have prepared her handsome son any better for a formal sixth plate that has a new archival seal then the woman who sent her offspring to the local daguerreian. The angels were smiling when they...
HOW LATE WAS HE TAKEN? While Erin and I were elbowing each other (kinda jokingly) trying to get the angles on about 60 dags in a glass display case I saw this chap with the neatly trimmed moustache and thought, "He must have been taken...
THIN OCTAGONAL. A full view of this smiling chap was presented by the widest opening brass mat commercially made for retaped sixth plates in the daguerreian era. His likeness was taken circa 1845 by a daguerreotypist who wasn't hesitant...
TOUCHING THE TOP! Direct and filling the frame aptly describes the resealed sixth size likeness of a man taken at mid-19th century in an unknown location. Not only was the fellow's maker a capable craftsman, he also knew how to provide a...
SAIL AWAY! The nearly pristine leather case has the famous design of a sailing vessel on both covers and "E. White", the case maker, embossed on the pennant flying at the pinnacle of the main mast. Oh and there is the rather weirdly...
THAT BACKGROUND! I previously owned a resealed sixth size daguerreotype of a man seated in front of this identical backdrop that I believe was a patchwork quilt hung in such a manner that it could be put in motion while people were taken....
SHE WAS DEMURE. And possibly somewhat startled since the daguerreotypist began the countdown before the cute gal had the opportunity to completely compose herself for that wonderful event (her friends who had been taken assured her it was...
WAS THAT A MOP? "Grrrrrr, what daya mean my naked skull is too damn shiny? I'm ah payin' you a pretty damn penny for this here picture!" Could the gruff old man have been coaxed into wearing that rug that an unidentified daguerreian...
COUNT THE PORES! I am baffled by such a razor sharp face that is actually a bit mushy in the man's newly sealed sixth size image. Did he somehow move the top and sides of his head while keeping that weather beaten face motionless? Or,...
THE HAND THAT HELPED! The kid's father reached into the sixth plate with a new seal and held tightly to the back of his child's head in a supreme effort to keep the tyke seated and still. The unpleasant expression indicates to me that the...
NO CHANCE! Even on my best scanning day, it wouldn't be possible to duplicate the intense holographic depth and superb tinting that an unknown daguerreotypist created for the lady who visited his studio in the mid-1850s. Not only was the...
OH THAT POSE! The turn of the lady's head, plus the placement of a hand against the side of her face (partially hidden underneath those long perfectly coiled cascading curls) and the professional arrangement of her lace inner sleeve would...
VERY DESIRABLE. Three lads and a man, who placed his elbow against that slender tree trunk, posed for an unknown daguerreotypist in a northern city sometime after 1850. The operator must have been skilled in his chemical methodology since...
ANOTHER CULTURE? This is a remarkable quarter plate dag that was over matted and fitted into a lovely early leather case that has a new hinge. While there are many mold spiders around the gent, he is an interesting and very soulful...
RISING MOON. Otherworldly might best describe that painted background hung behind an attractive although cautious appearing lady when she sat for a sixth plate likeness with a new seal sometime in the mid-1850s. I am impressed by her...
NOW I KNOW. I wonder if that weird elongated triangular shadow stretching from the subject's ear beyond the edge of the double elliptical brass mat on the right side had any direct correlation to the gent's brilliant set of bright blue...
MUCH LARGER! A lovely lass with a cunning expression was arranged with an artist's eye both for beauty and composition. A masterful daguerreotypist who had the sun, moon and daguerreian stars all straight-lined for huge success selected a...
FOUR IN HAND. Or . . . dark, white, dark, white could be an appropriate title as any person viewing this amazing quarter plate scene would instantly suggest. The patina adds color where there was none the day the formal portrait of those...
ELEGANT LIGHT! I guess this youthful gentleman's portrait, a sixth plate that has been archivally taped, proves that not every maker was an artist and an accomplished artisan! The subject's surface has several flaws that have appeared...
PUPPY LOVE! Ouch, I know that's what all of you thought when you read those two words. Hey, the charming lad obviously did like that cute little critter enough to have a desire to bring him along to the unknown daguerreotypist. (No,...
LOTS OF PAINE(S)! Oh sometimes my puns are so clever that I can't believe I even thought of them. I really shouldn't joke about the gorgeous damsel captured against a field of white on finely polished silver and vignetted across the...
A WINDOW SILL. When I spy the light source in a singular person's retaped sixth plate it suggests to me that the space was very cramped. Curiously, we all realize the light entered the room or dag wagon from the left, yet the pages in...
WORE IT LONG! He had probably been an individualist his entire life, having begun to see the realities of living well even in his teen years. Coming forth into maturity the man must have made enough money to do exactly what he desired!...
I THINK THEY WERE FRIENDS. A pair of perky teenagers sat next to each other and adroitly watched every movement the maker made as he sashayed around his camera throwing out sweet nothings and overt compliments to the lovely duo. With their...
TAKEN DEC. 1858. The woman must have been adhered to the sparkling silver finish by a professional operator who had worked successfully in an urban environment. He could afford to at least heat the camera room. Or the doe-eyed damsel...
DREAMLAND! Or maybe the fellow had bedroom eyes. Did folks in 1850 even notice a man's lovely eyes? You bet they did! And here we are a century and a half later and those pale orbs still grab us even though we are peering at a...
"REIMER'S GALLERY . . . 397 N.2nd AB Green Philadelphia" was pressed into a bright burgundy cushion inside the intact Philadelphia style whole leather case. The wide-eyed wary boy (well, wouldn't you be uncertain if YOU had to wear that...
THERE WAS . . . Definite uncertainty on the tiny boy's face as he stood on a chair next to his gorgeous young mother who leaned towards him as she placed her arm around his waist while their splendid sixth plate, with a new seal, was...
JOHN W. GLAUS. The boy's name was written in pencil on a small scrap of paper that is kept underneath his archivally sealed sixth plate that was quickly recleaned to remove tarnish that obscured 90% of silvered surface. A printed label "Fr...
KINDA COCKY. How could a little boy be daguerreotyped in a retaped ninth plate and show such an attitude in front of his maker? He leaned on a table giving his tiny torso a list to the left while that marvelous straw hat was cocked in the...
RUBY RED! Honestly, even when I KNOW the overall appearance of a freshly sealed sixth plate would have looked better if the silver was rapidly recleaned . . . I think the possibilities through and rarely ask Casey to do more than apply...
WHY 71651? Well, those were the numbers someone inscribed on the copper side of the recently taped sixth plate that also has "57" written using a purple marking pen I think. So . . . do you know any bad hair jokes? I'm trying to see in...
HAD TO BE NATURAL! Dark curls galore capped off the teenager's well-proportioned head in his sharply focused retaped sixth plate dag that has a couple mold spiders and a narrow rim of oxidation. His flesh tones were tinted. He was well...
PROMINENCE! I am presenting a retaped sixth plate that thrusts the subject up and away from the midnight gloaming around him because the maker knew that a slightly lower than normal camera angle, excellent lighting from the side with a...
SHE WAS CONCERNED. After being handed her wonderful resealed quarter plate daguerreotype I would wager the lady slowly smiled at the wonderful embellishments her maker added to the finished plate and said, "If only I would not have looked...
HE AND HIS BOYS. As I have explained many times previously, having knowledge that tarnish can be removed to "improve" a redone sixth plate dag can only be learned, not casually assumed. Knowing when NOT TO CLEAN takes much more...
A SERIOUS POUT!!! Who knew there was an outbreak of teeny black daguerreian measles on the kid's resealed sixth plate? They were only revealed after a new piece of glass covered the portrait. I thought the unhappy lad was cute! He...
ATTACHED TO THE VELVET! A small white label bordered with red had this inscription written neatly in ink: "A. P. K. 1830-1862 M.J.O.K. 1833-1898". The couple's magnificent archivally prepared half plate daguerreotype was taken circa...
WAS THE CHILD ANGRY? A small babe was seated with one arm on a painted wooden chair with his chin tucked tightly against his chest. Was the maker demonstrative enough or one of the kid's parents to convince the lad to sit tight for the...
WARY . . . Even on canvas. An odd gent was copied to his archivally taped sixth plate daguerreotype sometime in the 1850s. From the partial sneer on his upper lip, to his angled head and including those softly brushed, yet hard and...
ONE ARM WAS ACROSS . . . Her slender waist while the lass let her other arm hang loosely at her side. Not even her face full of freckles softened her stern stare towards the camera. To say that she appeared "structured and stiff" while...
OH GRANNY . . . Where art thou now? My good friend Joe Bauman has always had an interest in all the ancient people I find in archivally sealed sixth size daguerreotypes. He is an expert on men daguerreotyped that had served our nation (do...
MARVELOUS REFLECTIONS! This sixth size dag had original paper tape and hazy moisture laden glass. It has been archivally prepared to the point that the young lass sparkles brightly as she did the day her portrait was taken. Excellent...
EASY TO SEE. A gal from the late 1840s decided it was high time to have a standard sixth size dag taken. She selected a fine pleated dress and draped a metallic chain attached to a wonderful beaded purse over one arm. At first glance, I...
EYES LIKE SAUCERS. "Mitchell" was written in the bottom of her very worn sixth size leather case without a cover that had an embossed Delicate Roses theme. I would wager, successfully I think, that this youthful beauty was recently...
IT WAS . . . A youthful boy or might it be a girl. Honestly folks, when we buy dags in almost 100-degree weather with high humidity, by the end of the day looking through nearly opaque glass covered in a veil of haze and huge white specks,...
IT WAS THE VEST! Then I saw his friendly expression. The teenager's eyes were hooded and deeply set in place and accentuated because his maker lit him with light streaming into the room from overhead. Although his arm was rather...
WHY UPSIDE-DOWN? Almost every sixth plate with a new seal I have ever owned, when a male is the subject and NOT wearing his chapeau, has a variety of hats placed in a similar fashion as this one. Aren't you pleased that I got this far...
A TINTED SETTEE! Shoes and legs out of focus but filling the bottom fifth of the oval framed sixth size dag effectively forced us to look upon this tyke seated frozen in a moment (at least several seconds) of time and lit by light from...
I FEEL FAINT . . . But I suspect the lady, identified as "Miss Sarah Bowles", opened her fan for the daguerreotypist as she posed wearing her summer bonnet and would gladly use it to revive me (if she only knew of my appreciation) by...
YEP, IT'S RED! Her coral necklace was definitely BRIGHTLY painted yet it is the subdued and contrasting faux marble veins in that dark column resting on a wider base that really drew my gaze, after I checked out the coquettish dark eyed...
HALLOWEEN SURPRISE. I suspected that the lighter colored fabric behind little miss Jane ("Jane 1852" was carved at the top center on the reverse of her separated leather case) was her mother's dress. When I first resealed the plate in...
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...
RATHER REMARKABLE! A classic very early sixth plate daguerreotype portraying a young man seated ramrod straight. His large hands with fingers entwined, were pressed tightly against his stomach. He is holding his breathe and has firmly...
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...
PROPER LAD. One mention to this kid that he was in a lower class and you would receive a fat lip! He just screams, I am rich; you're not, so leave me alone and don't talk to me. The adolescent boy stands with his hand resting steadily...
A GENTLEMAN who had acquired modest wealth, reaching an elderly age would certainly be expected to have a fine sixth plate daguerreotype taken. So, that is what the unidentified old man from Exeter, NH, did. He probably went to Boston (wit...
APPREHENSIVE CHILD! Perfect! Faultless! Majestic! Splendiferous! Yes readers, I really like the archivally preserved half plate of the adorable little gal, who stood on a chair and rested one pudgy arm on a tabletop. How daring was Mr....
THE BACKGROUND behind the be-whiskered gentleman appears to be a checkered flannel cloth. It is at least a couple feet from the individual and softly out-of-focus so it doesn't compete with his countenance but a viewer is subtly aware...
THREE ANGELS! The title for a most extraordinary quarter plate daguerreotype was the easy part in this description. While I am absolutely certain that a famous daguerreotypist made this tour de force on silver in the mid-1850s, I must...
TRULY . . . Couldn't the operator have selected a better pose for such a friendly freckle faced young woman who sat so patiently in that stilted position while her resealed sixth plate was made? The tinted tablecloth, partially painted...
HIDING IN THE CORNER. If you look beyond that precocious child, identified as "Malvera Harriott", on the left side of her "taken at home" retaped sixth plate daguerreotype you will notice a change in the fabric that covered Malvera's ...
THE APPLICATION . . . Of so much color on the gal's dress and that tablecloth across the bottom of her sixth plate likeness with a new seal plus the addition of tint on her hands, with a wedding band prominent on her ring finger, provides...
AT THE TIME . . . The parents posed with their tiny daughter, who stood between them nervously, the daguerreotypist improperly fixed their archivally taped half plate that was over matted to mimic a 3/4 sized dag. Those milky stains are a...
ONLY FROSTING. Those uniform white dots were part of the process readers and they are not flaws in the wonderful childhood sixth size likeness. The other flecks are harmless. There are a couple nearly parallel lines on the right that...
WHAT WAS . . . Going on behind the lady while she sat calmly for her retaped sixth sized dag in an unidentified location? While she was rather plain I have examined the patterns in the cloth for several minutes, rotating the piece that is...
DOUBLE TAKE! Sometimes when it's hot, humid and hazy and I'm walking aimlessly in the dusty fields, masquerading as places where antique dealers displays their items for sale, I might miss certain elements of fine quarter plate dags with...
TOO YOUNG TO KNOW! The babe with the blue tinted legs (?) probably sat on a cushion and certainly would have had a leather belt around its waist, hidden by the folds of a snowy white dress while the daguerreotypist did his best to record...
"SAMUEL TUTTLE" . . . Sat for his newly sealed sixth size character study that is still vibrant today. Yes, there are a few faint brown spots, one dark dot and a teeny white specks. Also moderate oxidation inside the oval. Sam's pose...
BECAUSE THEY WERE . . . Kept together, I can faithfully record that Agnes and Richard Walsh were taken circa 1848-1849 in a professional daguerreotypist's operating room. The unknown man made an exceptional half plate with perfect...
STUFFED! That could refer to the padded chair or the babe's position against the fabric while a sixth sized likeness that has been archivally sealed was composed and taken! The child was definitely pressed into the hollow so to speak. ...
A DIAMOND RING . . . Signifies that the full figured lady was married. Those other two gold tinted bands and that large brooch suggest that she not only had ample cash to pay for her sixth plate likeness but she could also afford the...
THE GOOD ARTIST . . . painted an adorable rendering of a very precocious lass on either canvas or paper during the daguerreian era. It was copied on to a retaped sixth plate by an operator who neatly finished the surface with fine...
ATTRACTIVE EYES! The young subject neatly combed his dark mane and dressed conservatively when he visited an unknown daguerreian's parlor to have this formal resealed sixth plate executed. He was rewarded with excellent depth and...
TURNED DOWN! That was an unusual collar the lad wore for his retaped sixth plate dag. His maker illuminated the boy with broad balanced light. The contrast is deceptively good since the neutral tones are so numerous that it is easy to...
NARROWED HIS EYES! The lad must have been sensitive to the brightness that illuminated him while he was seated for his resealed sixth plate. Because the surface was deeply buffed and the parallel strokes are visible, it stands to reason...
WHO, WHERE AND WHEN? I don't recognize the man, do you? Where was the original daguerreotype taken? When and of course why, would also be helpful to know too. I am offering a dark also dreary resealed sixth plate copy dag of must have...
A SECOND TIME! I noticed the shadow next to the gent's head on the surface of he and his wife's rapidly recleaned and resealed quarter plate likeness that has remarkable sharpness, extended contrast and superb reflected depth and wondered,...
AT AN EARLIER TIME . . . The dark eyed sitter wore a dress tinted blue without those spots, caused by moisture from weeping old glass. Now, with a new piece of sixth size glass and an archival seal, we can admire her more clearly. The...
ALAS . . . Her hair is missing. While this wonderful and rather poignant note (complete with misspelled words) managed to stay with the gal's quarter plate daguerreotype that has a new archival seal, an actual part of her has disappeared....
DEFINITELY FROM PHILLY. I believe that both Montgomery Simons and the Root gallery used this type of artistic arrangement to make sixth plate daguerreotypes. The lady sat behind the wooden windowsill with her arm resting across the top...
AT TIMES . . . Casey's boundless energy and stick to-itness while seeking a quest just simply amazes me. After procuring a beautiful camera and lens circa 1930s he proceeded to make 2 exposures on the 6.5 x 8.5 inch silver mirrors in...
OLD SOUTH. The Meeting House is one of the historic Crown Jewels in Boston, where on Dec. 16 1773 organizers of the Boston Tea Party gathered. Most of the prominent Revolutionary War Patriots from Massachusetts were familiar visitors to...
SOUTHBOUND! Everyone who has visited us here in Exeter is familiar with the vibrations created by the freight trains that pass nearby our home. Sometimes standing inside the barn when a long heavily laden parade of cars rumbles along I...
MY SAVIOR! Irene Navarro attended the recent Daguerreian Society trade fair in DC and was introduced to me via email a week later. I answered a question about a piece of Daguerreian jewelry she sent to me in a scan. I shared this...