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 156

CDV, Erotic Couple, Chamberlin, New York

Estimate: $300 - $500
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 lively erotic scene photographed as a carte-de-visite, most likely dating to the mid-to-late 1860s based on the style of the reverse imprint and the CDV format's peak popularity in that decade and very possibly a copy of a French stereo daguerreotype. The image was produced by Chamberlin, Photographer, operating at 603 Broadway, New York, whose name and address appear in a decorative oval vignette on the reverse featuring an engraved view camera.

The two figures are posed in an embrace: a woman in a voluminous pale skirt, dark bodice, and a large floral-trimmed bonnet leans back against a pedestal bearing an ornate metal urn with tall feathered or foliate sprays, while a man in a light sack coat and bold houndstooth-check trousers leans emphatically into her, one hand at her waist and the other gripping her arm. A draped curtain fills the upper right background. The woman's expression is direct and composed, creating a deliberate comic tension with the man's animated posture.

CDVs produced by Broadway studios were sold as novelties and collected in carte albums alongside portraits, capitalizing on the humor culture of the period. The number "32" is hand-inked in the lower left corner of the image area, suggesting this card was part of a numbered series. The reverse bears the printed imprint: "Chamberlin. / 603 Broadway / New York / Photographer."

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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.