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 522

Cabinet Card, Leap Year Ball Dance Card, Leadville, 1892

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
A mustachioed performer stands in a full-length, vignette-style cabinet card portrait made by Cecil Studio at 426 Harrison Avenue, Leadville, Colorado, almost certainly around January 1892. The card was tied to the Grand Leap Year Ball hosted by the United Sons and Daughters of America, Martha Washington Camp No. 1, held at City Hall on Friday Evening, January 1st, 1892, and the reverse serves as the official printed dance program for that event. The photograph functions simultaneously as a promotional portrait and a keepsake dance card, a dual-purpose format well suited to fraternal lodge celebrations of the period.

The subject poses with hands tucked behind his back, chin tilted upward, wearing a dark vest over a light shirt with rolled sleeves, dark trousers, and a small round cap. A painted backdrop of tropical ferns frames him, and hand-lettered text arching behind his head reads "SAL COME, LET'S PIVOT," a playful Leap Year dance invitation. A blue ribbon and tassel are tied through a hole at the upper left corner of the mount.

The printed reverse lists sixteen dances in the Order of Dances, including Waltz, Polka, Quadrille "Mocking Bird," Yorke, Schottische, Saratoga Lancers, Rosita, and others, with partner lines left blank for inscription. The reverse bears a penciled catalog notation reading CN-699.

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