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 519

Cabinet Card, Three Shoe Store Clerks, Henning, Galena, Ill

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

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
Three shoe store clerks posed at an ornately carved wooden sales counter form the subject of this cabinet card, made by Henning at 196 and 198 Main Street, Galena, Illinois. The format and imprint style place the photograph in the 1890s, a period when Galena was a well-established commercial center in Jo Daviess County. All three women are unidentified.

The woman at left wears a dark polka-dot dress with puffed sleeves and a checked apron, holding a lace-up boot in both hands; a shoe box rests on the counter beside her. The center figure wears a printed blouse beneath a dark apron and holds a shoe with a cloth, while a second box sits on the counter. The woman at right, in a plain dark fitted dress, holds a shoe sole upward in each hand.

The elaborately carved counter, with acanthus-leaf panel relief and bracket feet, appears to be a prop or actual store fixture and lends the image unusual occupational specificity rarely seen in studio portraiture of the period.

The reverse is blank with no inscription or notation.

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