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 510

Cabinet Card, Banner Girl by R.H. Stripe

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

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 young woman known as a Banner Girl, reclining in a wicker chair draped with a fur throw and surrounded by loose photographic portraits pinned to and spread across her dress, is the subject of this cabinet card by R.H. Stripe, operating as Le Premier in Waukegan, Illinois. The photographer's imprint appears at the base of the mount. Unlike costumes with portraits sewn directly onto the fabric, here the photographs are pinned in place and several additional prints lie loose across her skirt and the floor.

A small cabinet card portrait of a man is pinned to her cap, and further individual and group portraits, including a seated group of men in suits, are fastened down the front of her skirt and scattered at her feet. She wears a light colored dress with puffed sleeves and lace trim at the collar, and rests one arm along the scrolled arm of the chair. A studio pedestal and painted backdrop are visible behind her at left.

As with other surviving examples of this type, the sitter was likely engaged as a Banner Girl, a woman hired to appear costumed in photographs or at public events as a walking advertisement, in this case built entirely from photographic prints, most plausibly to promote Stripe's own studio.

The mount bears the printed imprint R.H. Stripe, Le Premier, Waukegan, Ill.

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