Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Sat, Sep 19, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-09-19 11:00:00 2026-09-19 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/september-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-24380
Our September 2026 auction is anchored by two remarkable private collections, together making up about half the sale, alongside a broader selection of consignments spanning early photography, Civil War material, and vernacular imagery. The Soffer Collection, built with an eye for rarity and historical significance, is particularly strong in vernacular portraiture, Native American photographs, and Iowa Civil War imagery. The Palmer, Massachusetts collection, much of it found at Brimfield, centers on maker-marked daguerreotypes from the golden age of the American daguerreian studio.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 338

CDV, Native American Couple with Infant, Louis Monaco, Eureka NV

Estimate: $300 - $500
Starting Bid
$150

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 Native American man and woman are portrayed together in this CDV, produced by Louis Monaco at his Art Gallery in Eureka, Nevada, a silver and lead mining boomtown that supported a small but active commercial photography trade in the 1870s and 1880s. Monaco's imprint appears on both the recto, reading "Louis Monaco, Photo., Eureka, Nev.," and the ornately printed verso. The subjects are unidentified.

The standing man wears long hair beneath a flat-brimmed straw hat and is dressed in a fringed hide vest decorated with bold geometric appliqué panels in white and dark tones across the chest and shoulders, paired with light trousers and moccasins. The seated woman holds a swaddled infant secured in a cradleboard propped against the chair at her side, and she wears a loose light-colored cloth dress with a fur or hide wrap across her lap.

The combination of traditional dress elements alongside Euro-American clothing reflects the contact-period material culture common to Great Basin peoples of central Nevada, consistent with the Eureka region's proximity to Shoshone and Paiute communities.

The reverse carries the full studio imprint of L. Monaco's Art Gallery, Eureka, Nevada, with the printed notice "All Negatives retained for future orders, Old Pictures copied and enlarged, Artistic Work a specialty."

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