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 239

Cabinet Card, Place Vendôme Column, Paris, London Stereoscopic Co

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
A broad street-level view of the Rue de la Paix looking toward the Place Vendôme anchors this albumen cabinet card, published by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company and printed within a distinctive oval vignette on a cream mount. The image dates to the mid-to-late 1860s or after, consistent with the company's use of the 108 and 110 Regent Street address, which the firm occupied from 1865 onward. The lower face of the mount carries the printed title "The Column in La Place Vendome" in red lettering, with "Stereoscopic Co." at lower left and "Copyright." at lower right.

Horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses fill the cobblestone street receding into the distance, while pedestrians in dark Victorian dress crowd both footways beneath continuous striped shop awnings. Multi-story Haussmann-era facades line each side with uniform cornice lines, and the Vendôme Column rises at the vanishing point, its slender shaft and crowning statue silhouetted against a pale sky. The oval vignette fades softly at its edges, giving the composition a painterly depth unusual for a street view.

The Vendôme Column was commissioned by Napoleon I between 1806 and 1810 to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, and was torn down during the Paris Commune of 1871 before being reconstructed. Its 425 bronze bas-relief panels spiraling up its shaft were cast from captured enemy cannon. The London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company specialized in the mass production of stereoscopic photographs, with over 100,000 views listed in its 1858 catalogue, and topographic views of Paris were among its most commercially successful subjects.

The reverse bears a full green-printed imprint for the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company at 110 and 108 Regent Street and 54 Cheapside, with royal appointments to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, and the notation "Sole Photographers to the International Exhibition 1862." A pencil inscription at lower left reads "7/27/09 COLBDX Eb."

Available payment options

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Amex
  • Diners
  • Discover
  • JCB
  • Union Pay
PayPal

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.