 Special Double Issue! Hello fellow daguerreotypists,
"The whole daguerreotype process is a delicate one, and will not be treated with neglect. Like a spirited young woman who has been hard to entrap into the meshes of Cupid, it will treat us to an occasional flash of anger or waywardness if we are unfaithful to the obligations it imposes. It will not be tampered with nor treated with neglect. You have only to show proper attention, and study to anticipate its humors to make it as pliable as an amiable and loving girl."We are well into 1999. Hopefully your dagging year is as far along and sans the flashes of anger and waywardness this hobby of ours is so willingly able to provide. Sadly, there are no delicious rumors to pass on or any tantalizing scandals amongst us to report. Although, I did hear that Tom Story might come out of retirement (after all those 11x14s he deserved a rest) and Shlaer's Carvalho book is off to the presses. Expect to see it in about a year. With that, some meat on this otherwise thin piece of paper: Platers. The following have recently made plates for daguerreotyping and, according to reports, with satisfactory results and reasonable prices--past performance is no guarantee of future results--dageat emptor: Imperial Plating Company From our man in NYC, Jerry Spagnoli: Pyrex has come out with a product which is perfect to use as the liner for a whole plate box, its the PyrexPlus 11 cup dish, its 3 inches deep by 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 and has a smooth flat top. "I'm gonna make two new boxes just to celebrate." Fuming box makerc (5 stars): Joe Verni 718-246-8223
Dust ever a problem? After sweating bullets to get the latest beauty unscathed and under glass, before sealing, your final inspection reveals a pesky pollutant. Whaddaya do? Hope that no one will notice? If your experience is like mine, pulling the glass automatically insures proliferation of the pest. Some would pick up a can of Dust Off, but I worry about what might come out of there. An option is an oral syringe. If a darkroom variety duster goes pfffft these babies go PFFFFFT creating a tempest in a dag case and causing the meddlesome eyesore to bite the dust. Get the Big Bertha (the bulb about 2.5" in diameter with a nozzle about 3" long) at a drugstore near you. .000846" Metal Finishing Technologies--Charlie SchreinerContact Rob for more info on this data and more on Buffalo Plating. Pierre Plating is an interesting source and a bit of a mystery as is their rep, Peter. Peter doesn't have an office or a last name and can only be reached by phone. He won't say what or where Pierre Plating is. You call Peter up, ask for dag plates, he says no problem, and hand delivers to your door (and this is New York City!). You can pick the ones you want and discard the others and pay for those you keep. They also plate without the need for racking holes, which is a real time/hassle saver and, depending on your tastes, great for displaying the entire finished plate. $18 each for 4x5s. This is not cheap. My last batch of 5x7s, going the Daniel Smith/MFT route, was @ $17.50 each. But! Mine were not hand delivered or hand picked. So what if you are dealing with a guy in sunglasses and a trench coat (just don't ask where he gets the silver). Call Mark Kessel at 212 924 3284 to get in touch with Peter. The one-day Daguerreian Workshops will take place on May 1 and 2 at the GEH. The Advanced Class TBA. More info from workshop@geh.org or 716-271-3361 ext. 323. Check out "http://www.newdags.com" the internet showcase and commercial hub of yours truly and, just down the cyber road a piece, "http://home.earthlink.net/~jspagnoli" that of Jerry Spagnoli.
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