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 117

CDV, Acrobatic Troupe, L. Daillon, Paris

Estimate: $200 - $300
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
Five performers in matching performance costumes pose together in a studio setting, captured in a carte de visite produced at the Photographie du Saumon studio of L. Daillon, 59 rue Montmartre, Paris. Louis Daillon operated the Photographie du Saumon studio at 59 rue Montmartre beginning in 1860, and the studio at that address remained under the Photographie du Saumon name until 1877, placing this image firmly in the 1860s to mid-1870s.

The adult male at center stands tall with curly dark hair and a mustache, gazing upward with a composed, upward-turned expression. All five figures wear matching short-skirted performance costumes with dark embroidered trunks over white close-fitting long-sleeved bodysuits, white tights, and soft acrobatic slippers. One child kneels in front with hands gripped by the adult, a second stands at left with hands clasped, a third is positioned at right with one hand resting on the adult's shoulder, and a fourth stands slightly behind at right. The costumes share a consistent decorative motif of medallion and foliate embroidery along the collar and trunks.

The grouping, matching costumes, and deliberate studio pose strongly identify this as a family acrobatic troupe or performing company, a popular subject for Parisian CDV portraiture during the flourishing circus and variety-hall culture of the Second Empire and early Third Republic.

Reverse bears the printed studio imprint "Photographie du Saumon / L. Daillon, / 59, Rue Montmartre, 59 / Paris" and an ink inscription reading "Collection Joseph Thibunel" (Collection of Joseph Thibunel), along with an inked asterisk mark.

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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.