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 287

CDV, Edmond Mégy, Paris Commune Communard, E. Appert

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
Edmond Mégy, born Léon Guillaume Edmond Mégy, was a Blanquist militant under the Second Empire and a member of the Paris Commune. This carte de visite portrait, produced by E. Appert at 24, Rue Taitbout, Paris, captures Mégy in a standing three-quarter pose against a plain studio ground. The image on the recto carries an ink inscription identifying the sitter as "M. Dugerry," a misreading corrected by a subsequent hand on the verso, which supplies his full name, dates, and association with the Paris Commune.

Mégy wears a long dark frock coat open over a buttoned waistcoat, with a white clerical-style collar tab at the throat. His hair is full and curled, his gaze directed slightly upward and away from the camera, and he holds a broad-brimmed hat loosely at his side with his left hand. His posture is relaxed and upright, conveying the bearing of a man accustomed to public life.

A communard and exiled Blanquist, Mégy had worked as a mechanic at Châlons, on the Suez Canal construction sites, and as a stoker on the Paris-Lyon railway before becoming a political militant. E. Appert was best known for his documentation of the Paris Commune of 1871 and specialized as a portraitist of political figures of all persuasions.

The verso bears the printed imprint of E. Appert, "Peintre Photographe," 24, Rue Taitbout, Paris, styled as "Photographe du Corps Législatif" and "Photographe de la Magistrature," with silver medal dates of 1853, 1855, 1859, and 1867. Inscribed in pencil on the verso: "Megy / Leon Guillaume Megy (1841–1884) / Paris Commune." Also penciled at the bottom: "3/21/07," "LOFGEZ," and "Eb."

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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.