Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Sat, Sep 19, 2026 11:00AM EDT
Lot 647

Boudoir Card, Floral Still Life, Pasadena, March 1886

Estimate: $100 - $200

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
A studio still life of cut flowers, captured in Pasadena in March 1886, mounted on a boudoir card. The albumen print dates to a formative period in Pasadena's early settlement history, when the community was barely a decade old and amateur photography was becoming a popular pursuit among its residents. No photographer's imprint is visible on the mount.

The composition centers on a draped table laden with an abundant floral arrangement: roses, large open blooms, trailing vines in a wicker basket, and tall plumes of pampas grass rising behind the display. A wooden ladder-back chair stands to the left, also dressed with hanging foliage and scattered petals visible on the floor below. A fabric backdrop fills the upper field, with raking natural light casting strong shadows across the scene.

Two companion photographs in this group depict garden views in Pasadena, one featuring a Norfolk Island pine, tall yucca, and dense shrubs, and the other a gravel garden path flanked by agave, fruit trees, and two figures with a dog, a low mountain range visible in the distance. Together the three prints offer an intimate record of domestic garden life in early Pasadena.

The reverses are inscribed in ink: no. 1012, "Flowers. Sunday morning March. 86 Pasadena."; no. 1030, "Garden in Pasadena."; no. 1032, "Garden. Pasadena." All three carry the notation "12/26/74" and catalog references in a later hand.

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