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 130

Cabinet Card, Women's Gymnastic Club, Percy Underwood, Brixton

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 large group of approximately eighteen young women poses outdoors against a brick wall for this cabinet card, photographed by Percy Underwood of 158 Stockwell Park Road, Brixton, S.W. The image dates to the 1890s based on the imprint style, dress fashions, and the format itself. The outdoor setting, taken in a rear yard or courtyard, gives the image an informal energy unusual for the period, and the tiered arrangement of figures rising from seated front-row members up to a single woman perched in a doorway above lends the composition a theatrical, almost pyramidal structure.

Most of the women wear matching dark dresses with white collars or neckwear, suggesting club uniform or coordinated dress, and several hold thin gymnastic wands or rods at their sides and across their laps. One woman seated at center foreground rests an arm behind her head in a relaxed, confident pose, while another to her left grips a wand loosely on the ground. A woman at far right stands apart from the group in a lighter blouse and apron, possibly a supervisor or instructor.

The gymnastic wands scattered at the base of the group, along with the matching attire, identify this as a formal club portrait typical of the late Victorian physical culture movement, when organized gymnastics for women gained considerable popularity across South London institutions and church halls.

Photographer's imprint reads "Percy Underwood, 158 Stockwell Park Rd., Brixton, S.W." printed in gilt on the card face, right border. Reverse is plain and unmarked.

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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.