Modern Daguerreotype "US Customs House" Charleston, SC A scenic whole plate daguerreotype framed and ready Start Price USD 799.00 Current Price USD 799.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, May 15, 2008 End Time Thursday, May 22, 2008 Location Durham, North Carolina See more about 'Modern Daguerreotype "US Customs House" Charleston, SC' Description "United States Customs House" An Original Modern-Day Contemporary Daguerreotype by Jonathan Danforth Up for auction is the one of a kind framed Daguerreotype seen to the right. Click any image for a high resolution version! I have attempted to make the scans as true to life as possible but Daguerreotypes are somewhat hard to capture digitally. "United States Customs House" was created in the fall of 2007 in Charleston, South Carolina USA. I have recently returned from Charleston, SC with a whole plate (6.5"x8.5" daguerreotype of the beautiful United States Custom House. This lovely if gigantic piece of federal architecture was eventually completed in 1879 after a staccato and discontinuous twenty-six year construction process that began in 1853. The building is still in use today for its original purpose although I was not able to go inside. I believe that this is one of the most attractive buildings in the city of Charleston although it seems rather out of place. Nestled on East Bay street at the head of the (in)famous slave market (wherein one may now only buy trinkets and fudge), the stout US Customs House will likely remain until Charleston is again the inaugural site of a bloody war. This daguerreotype of the structure as it faces the Cooper river is the result of a three minute exposure on an October morning. I chose to push the dag to the limit and overexposed the sky so as to bring out the detail under the roof. Though slightly overexposed, the detail is exquisite. My favorite element, shown at right, is the anachronistic mini blinds on the left-hand side of the piece (right of building). This Daguerreotype is 100% authentic, initialed on verso along with the date. The Daguerreotype is the most beautiful photographic object ever created posessing a brilliance and gem-like quality that excites the senses and the intellect. There is no negative in the Daguerreotype process; the image is created in-camera on a silver plate and is therefore truly unique. You will never see a duplicate so there is no such thing as editioning with these images: yours is 1 of 1. The image is the most important part of this auction but let me tell you a little bit about what else you get. Instead of standard framing glass for the cover, I use the finest quality museum glass and an 8-ply archival black mat. Sealing the deal is the impervious J-LAR tape in lieu of the paper-based P-90 archivists tape. Basically, I aim to have my images and cases last for hundreds of years given proper care. The beautiful gilt frame was hand picked to compliment this handsome image. If you are not satisfied, I will refund your purchase price minus the PayPal fee if applicable and you will be responsible for insured shipping back to me. For more information, please visit my website. Place a Bid!