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 401

CDV, Horse-Drawn Open Carriage, Moscow, Russia, J. Monstein

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 gray horse stands harnessed to an open four-wheeled carriage, photographed outdoors in Moscow and produced as a carte-de-visite, most likely in the 1870s to 1880s based on the mount style and the known activity period of the Monstein studio family in Russia. The carriage and horse are presented in precise profile against a white picket fence, with a mature conifer and the facade of a brick building visible beyond. A numbered placard reading 5957 is affixed to the dashboard of the carriage, suggesting the image was made for documentary or inventory purposes rather than as a conventional portrait.

The open carriage is a two-seat, four-wheeled runabout with a folded black hood, iron-tired spoked wheels of graduated diameters, and a curved body mounted on full elliptic springs. The gray horse is fitted with a complete harness including a collar, traces, and a fly sheet draped over its back, with a whip upright in its socket at the right of the body. The surrounding grass verge, gravel surface, and decorative iron-capped fence posts contribute to a setting that reads as a private estate or urban residence.

The numbered placard on the carriage is a detail of particular interest: sequentially numbered photographs of carriages and horses are known from this period in Russia in the context of municipal or private livery registration, suggesting the image may document a specific licensed vehicle or hire equipage in Moscow.

The reverse bears a blue oval studio stamp reading "И. Монштейн / И. Невскаго 14" ("I. Monstein / Nevskogo 14") and is inscribed in pencil in a later hand: "Moscow, Russia."

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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.