Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Wed, Jun 24, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-06-24 11:00:00 2026-06-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/june-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-23574
Our June 2026 auction presents a focused and exceptional selection of historical photographs spanning the 1840s through the early twentieth century, with unusual depth in named subjects, rare formats, and documented provenance anchored by strong vernacular material that rewards close looking.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 296

Cabinet Card, Infant with Ball, Daniel Nyblin, Helsingfors

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 $5,000
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
An infant lies on its back on a checked blanket with a ruffled pillow, holding a large dark rubber ball aloft with both hands and feet in a playful pose, in this albumen cabinet card produced by Daniel Nyblin of Helsingfors (Helsinki), Finland, at his Atelier Nyblin studio at Fabianinkatu No. 31. The horizontal mount with gilt-edged borders carries the studio name in gold script along the left border. The elaborate black reverse bears the studio imprint in gold decorative lettering in three scripts — Swedish, Finnish, and Russian Cyrillic — reflecting the multilingual administrative context of Finland as a Russian Grand Duchy, with the Swedish notation "Platen förvaras" confirming that the negative was retained for future orders.

The infant wears a short white garment with a ruffled neckline, bare-legged, with one foot raised as part of the grip on the ball. The child's head rests on a large ruffled pillow and its gaze is directed toward the camera with a calm, alert expression. A carved wooden bedstead with a floral-patterned headboard panel is visible at the upper right, and the image is softly vignetted at all four corners.

Daniel Nyblin, born in Drammen, Norway in 1856, founded Atelier Nyblin in Helsinki in 1877 at the age of twenty-one and operated it until 1914, when his nephew assumed leadership. He is regarded as the father of Finnish fine art photography, known especially for his portraiture, and co-founded the Amateur Photography Club in Helsinki in 1889, the oldest still-active photography club in the Nordic countries. The studio remained in continuous family operation into the 1970s.

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