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 305

CDV, Marie Ferré, Louise Michel, and Paule Mink, 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
Three Communard women of the Paris Commune stand together in a group portrait recorded as a carte-de-visite by an unidentified photographer working at 40 rue Condorcet, Paris, in the early 1870s. The figure at left is Marie Ferré, sister of prominent Communard Théophile Ferré; center is Louise Michel; and at right, Paule Mink. The albumen print is mounted on a red-bordered card stock consistent with the format and production conventions of the period.

All three subjects lean or rest their hands on a painted studio balustrade, with a backdrop depicting ferns, foliage, and an arched architectural element behind them. Marie Ferré, at left, wears a dark fitted bodice with a white lace jabot and small bow at the throat, her dark hair worn short and wavy. Louise Michel, at center, is dressed in a dark jacket with a broad fur or velvet collar and a large ribbon bow at the chest. Paule Mink, at right, wears a light-colored striped bodice fastened with a vertical row of small buttons and a wide ribbon at the collar, her dark hair braided or coiled and pinned close to the head, one hand resting near a potted plant at the balustrade's edge.

Louise Michel (1830–1905) was a French anarchist and socialist activist who took part in the Commune in 1871. Paule Mink (born Adèle Paulina Mekarska; 1839–1901) was a French feminist and socialist revolutionary of Polish descent who participated in the Paris Commune and in the First International. Théophile Ferré (1845–1871) was a member of the Paris Commune who was captured, tried by a military court, shot at Satory, and was the first of twenty-five Commune members to be executed for his role in the uprising.

Reverse bears the printed studio imprint "Rue Condorcet 40, Paris" in red ink with a decorative sunburst device, the printed text "Cliché N°" and "Tous les clichés sont conservés" (meaning "All negatives are retained") in the margins, and an ink inscription in a later hand reading "Ferré, Louise Michel, Pte Minck" ("Ferré, Louise Michel, Pte. Minck").

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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.