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 297

CDV, Gen. Gustave Paul Cluseret, by Le Lieure, Paris

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
Gustave Paul Cluseret (1823–1900) was a French soldier and politician who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and Delegate for War during the Paris Commune. This CDV, produced by the Paris publisher and photographer Le Lieure as part of a celebrity portrait series, shows Cluseret in Union Army uniform, most likely dating to the period of his American service or shortly after his return to France in the early 1860s. The oval vignette format and albumen print technique are consistent with French commercial portrait production of the 1860s.

Cluseret is depicted in a dark military frock coat bearing square shoulder boards, a bow tie at the collar, and a row of medals on his left breast including a cross and at least two circular medallions. He wears a full mustache with a small chin beard, and his expression is direct and composed, conveying the commanding bearing of a career officer.

Cluseret took part in several expeditions in Algeria, joined Garibaldi's volunteers in 1860, and then served under Frémont and McClellan in America, rising to the rank of brigadier general. Returning to France, he joined the International Workingmen's Association and ultimately became Minister of War for the Paris Commune of 1871.

The recto imprint reads "Le Lieure Phot. Éditeur" (Le Lieure, Photographer and Publisher) with Cluseret's signature in ink beneath. The verso bears the imprint of Photographie Universelle, Th. Truchelut & Valkman, formerly at 17, Rue de Grammont, then at 16, Rue de Lancry, Boulevard Saint-Martin, Paris, under the series heading "Célébrités Contemporaines" (Contemporary Celebrities). Inscribed in pencil on the reverse: "Paul Bert" and "Paul Bert, Zoologist, Physiologist," with the notation "5/18/10" and "LOCDBZ."

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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.