Tender Face

Sixth Plate Daguerreotype | The tinting on the table cloth is unusual: salmon pink with soft, mossy green. In some mysterious way, the choice of gentle, glowing, naturalistic colors is in exact sympathy with this tender-faced lad. On the table we see his felt hat with a ribbon band. It is hard for a reproduction to capture the spirit of this image, which is an ordinary pose, but well above the ordinary in its emotional impact when viewed intimately.

Condition: Tinting in a fine state of preservation. A normal halo of tarnish that is quite harmonious with the tinting and gold toning of the plate. New archival seals that read "conventional plate, bends for buffing, c. 1852, no mark; retaped 10/27/89 DAW, Exeter, NH". A resilvered plate (i.e., there was an extra electroplating of silver, conducive to subtler and richer images). Fragment of old seals stored in back. Red silk pad faces the lad. Full Case with red Spine intact.

Key points: A simple portrait with a special tenderness and unusual hand tinting in colors of salmon pink and moss green. Sixth plate daguerreotype, American; measuring 3 1/4 inches x 2 3/4 inches (8.2 cm x 7.0 cm). 9D4-094; $635.