Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Sat, Sep 19, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-09-19 11:00:00 2026-09-19 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/september-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-24380
Our September 2026 auction is anchored by two remarkable private collections, together making up about half the sale, alongside a broader selection of consignments spanning early photography, Civil War material, and vernacular imagery. The Soffer Collection, built with an eye for rarity and historical significance, is particularly strong in vernacular portraiture, Native American photographs, and Iowa Civil War imagery. The Palmer, Massachusetts collection, much of it found at Brimfield, centers on maker-marked daguerreotypes from the golden age of the American daguerreian studio.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 198

Albumen Prints, Taber Photos, Wawona Tree, Mariposa Grove, San Francisco

Estimate: $100 - $200
Starting Bid
$50

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Two albumen prints by Isidore Taber of San Francisco document the Hotel del Monte in Monterey, California, mounted front and back on a single album page. Both prints bear Taber's printed credit along the lower border and carry individual catalog numbers, placing them within Taber's commercial view series produced for the tourist trade during the hotel's celebrated Gilded Age heyday. The Hotel del Monte opened in 1880 and quickly became one of the most fashionable resort destinations on the Pacific Coast.

The front view, numbered B 50, presents a broad frontal elevation of the hotel's sprawling Queen Anne facade, with its arched colonnaded veranda, steeply pitched gabled roofline, and central tower visible across a manicured lawn. A tall pine dominates the right foreground, and small figures are seated on a bench near a curved drive. The reverse print, numbered B 2295, offers a closer three-quarter angle framed by large overhanging trees, emphasizing the hotel's multi-story half-timbered wings and vine-covered lower veranda with ornamental balustrade and entry stairs.

The lower margins read "Hotel del Monte, Monterey, Cal." and "Hotel del Monte" respectively, each followed by "Taber Photo., San Francisco." The album page measures 8 1/2 by 12 1/4 inches, with each image approximately 4 3/4 by 7 1/4 inches.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer

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