Intriguingly damaged sixth plate ambrotype of Augustus Blakesley in full case

Sixth plate ambrotype in full case, 3.5 x 3.25 inches. The two sides of the case are split and the paper label indicates it once also contained a portrait of Blakesley's wife, Margaret Orr Johnson, whom he married in 1853. The remaining photograph is secured backwards in the frame, lacking the original dark base that would provide the contrast for the ambrotype image--as a result, Blakesley's portrait emerges subtly from the bare wood beneath him. The plate pops out easily enough to rectify the position, if desired. But we just might prefer it this way.

Augustus Milo Blakely was born in 1830 in Terryville, Litchfield CT. A portrait of a much older Blakesley accompanies his biographical entry in Men of Mark in Connecticut (Osborn, 1907, [52]-54): "The first fifteen years of Mr. Blakesley's life were spent on his father's farm at Plymouth, Connecticut, and his education was the limited one that usually falls to the lot of country boys. His first work was that of a clerk in a country store. In 1849 he went to Waterbury and was employed by J. M. and W. H. Scoville, merchants. At the end of three years he was given the position of teller in the Waterbury Bank. He was made cashier in 1864 and he has held that office continuously ever since, making his connections with that bank of fifty-three years duration. As president of the American Pin Company Mr. Blakesley takes an interest in manufacturing second only to his interest in banking. He is treasurer of the Waterbury Hospital and actively interested in all affairs concerning the public good. He was one of the fifty original members of the Second Congregational Church of Waterbury."