Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

2026 European Photography Auction

Wed, Oct 28, 2026 01:00PM EDT
  2026-10-28 13:00:00 2026-10-28 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : 2026 European Photography Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/2026-european-photography-auction-24401
Our October auction focuses on historic European photography, we are offering a curated collection of fine and erotic daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, CDV, cabinet cards, stereoviews, and a range of curious and uncommon nineteenth-century European vernacular material. At the center of the sale is a collection of images from the Paris Commune of 1871 and the surrounding “année terrible,” the year of war, siege, insurrection, and reprisal that reshaped France. The focus is on the people who drove those events and lived through their aftermath, and on the city that bore the damage.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 327

Cabinet Card, Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris

Estimate: $100 - $200
Starting Bid
$10

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
The Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, located at 64 Rue de Lille in Paris's 7th arrondissement, is the subject of this albumen silver cabinet card, captured in a sharp diagonal street view from the intersection below the building's retaining wall. The photograph dates to the post-1874 rebuilding period, as the structure appears fully intact, consistent with the reconstruction completed after the palace was destroyed by fire during the Paris Commune in 1871. No photographer's imprint is visible on the mount.

The façade presents a neoclassical rotunda with roofline statuary visible at upper right, circular portrait medallions set into the stone walls, and pedimented window surrounds along the curved wing. A balustraded limestone terrace wall runs across the foreground, its lower face plastered with printed broadsides and advertisements. A single male figure in dark dress stands at street level beside a small gatekeeper's kiosk, providing scale.

The building was originally constructed between 1782 and 1787 by architect Pierre Rousseau for Frederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg. Acquired by the Légion d'Honneur in 1804, it was burned by the Communards in May 1871, then rebuilt between 1871 and 1874 by architect Anastase Mortier, respecting Rousseau's original design while incorporating decoration by the official artists of the day.

Inscribed in ink on the reverse: "La Légion d'honneur" (The Legion of Honor Palace); additional pencil notations read "JD," "7 of 10," "10/13/07," "AOCBDX," and "Eb."

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We ship for free on combined lot values of $500 or higher in the United States. We will be traveling to Paris November 8-14th and can deliver any of our items at Paris Photo or the show on Saturday.