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 334

Cabinet Card, Ruined Church Interior, Grande Chabandon, France

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 roofless church nave reduced to bare rubble forms the subject of this albumen cabinet card, almost certainly produced in France in the 1870s or 1880s. The view is taken from within the gutted interior looking toward the far end of the nave, where a second surviving arch frames the depth of the ruin. The photographer is unidentified, with no studio imprint present on the mount.

A massive masonry arch dominates the foreground, its stone surface stripped and eroded, flanked by rows of skeletal piers that recede toward the vanishing point in tight perspective. The nave floor is buried under a continuous field of broken stone, timber fragments, and collapsed masonry, with no paving visible anywhere. The outer walls are largely intact to their full height while every vault, roof, and interior finish has been destroyed, producing a dramatic contrast between standing structure and total interior devastation.

The inscription on the reverse reads "Grande Chabandon" in pencil, identifying the location as recorded by a period hand. The notation "AoCBDx" and the date "10/13/07" are also written in pencil vertically along the right edge of the reverse, along with what appears to be a catalog or inventory number.

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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.