Daguerreotype, 1/4 plate Craigs Camera A beautiful delicately tinted portrait of a bespectacled gentleman in the slightly smaller European quarter-plate size (the height of the oval opening is 2-34"; overall size of the mat is 3-1/4x3-3/4"). The background has a light blue coloring to it, with a slight halo of tarnish; flesh tones are delicately tinted as well, with the addition of gold tinting on the watch fob and chair braiding. Gold highlights have also been added to the spectacles. The image is not sealed, and was never intended to have a preserver. The original push-button leather case is embossed "By Appointment Mr. Kilburn 222 Regent Street." While Kilburn opened a daguerreian studio in London as early as 1846, he was apparently not active at the 222 Regent Street address until 1856. And while I have no reason at all to doubt that this image and case are both original to each other, the image does appear to me to be earlier than that date.
[Comments courtesy of John Craig - www.craigscamera.com, Feb 2010]
