Heavenly Blue

Ninth Plate Daguerreotype | The tininess and vulnerability of this infant is emphasized by the ninth plate size and the tight embrace of an extra wide brass mat. The hand-tinted color is rather unusual: a pale wash of blue just this side of blue-green. Its delicacy and soft glow rivets our attention and tugs at the heartstrings. There is something elusive, ineffable about the color that, in my mind at least, suggests the connection to the Other World, the heavenly paradise to which this child -- who was no longer of This World when the daguerreotype was taken -- has ascended.

Condition: Unorthodox vertical buffing to the plate, a minor distraction. Some margin tarnish; a so-called "mold spider" (silicon deposit) at 7 o'clock. Full case, circa 1853, with original spine intact; lightly worn. I have not seen the back or inspected the seals. Tight in its case and without a preserver, I thought it prudent not to attempt to remove the image.

Key points: Post-mortem portrait of an infant tinted heavenly blue. An example where petite size seems exactly right for the subject. Ninth plate daguerreotype; measuring 2.5 inches by 2.0 inches. Image #0D2-111; $700.